Judge Dismisses Suit: HHS Mandate No Threat to Religious Freedom

 Anyone who can  say that the HHS Mandate doesn't infringe on religious freedom is either very misinformed or lying.

In a decision in one of the dozens of lawsuits the pro-abortion HHS mandate faces, a Missouri federal district court rejected a legal challenge to the Obamacare mandate brought by a small business whose owner is a Catholic.

The lawsuit claimed the HHS mandate burdens their exercise of religion.

However, in a ruling issues late Friday, Judge Carol E. Jackson dismissed in its entirety the lawsuit against the mandate, saying the mandate does not constitute a substantial burden on religious freedom. Judge Jackson ruled against Frank O’Brien and O’Brien Industries and in favor of the Obama administration’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

According to the legal documents, O’Brien “tries to manage and operate OIH in a manner consistent with his religion” and said the mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act violates his constitutional First Amendment rights. The documents said O’Brien Holdings faces a choice between “complying with [the ACA’s] requirements in violation of their religious beliefs, or paying ruinous fines that would have a crippling impact on their ability to survive economically.”

Judge Jackson said O’Brien didn’t qualify for any of the narrow religious exemptions or the temporary “safe harbor” clause as it doesn’t quality as a “religious employer.” The company will be forced to select a new employee health plan before January 1, 2013.

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