Taking a Stand Against Obamacare
by Amy Payne, Heritage Foundation, March 20, 2014
Obamacare has caused seemingly endless problems, and one of the big—and very personal—ones will be on display at the Supreme Court next week.
Often called the HHS (Health and Human Services) mandate, one of Obamacare’s stipulations is that employers who are providing health coverage to their employees must pay for coverage of abortion-inducing drugs and contraception. And for many Americans, paying for those drugs violates their consciences.
The government is saying, “We are going to force you to do something that is against your moral principles,” says Wayne Hepler, owner of Seneca Hardwood Lumber in Pennsylvania.
Hepler and his family want to continue providing health insurance for their employees without being forced to violate their consciences. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, they’re challenging the government’s coercive mandate. And it’s not just champions of religious liberty who should be worried.
“Any time that you see someone else’s rights being violated, that should be a concern,” says Hepler’s daughter, Carrie Kolesar, who is part owner of the company. “You know, if religious freedom isn’t particularly important to an individual, they could still see that if you could violate one right, what’s to keep another right from being violated?”
A federal district judge ruled in favor of Seneca Hardwood Lumber last year, so the Hepler family has temporary relief from the mandate for now. They, along with more than 300 plaintiffs across the country also challenging the mandate, are waiting to see what the Supreme Court does after it hears oral arguments in two similar cases on Tuesday.
Stick with The Foundry for continuing coverage of the Americans who are taking a stand against Obamacare.
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