In the first case of its kind, a Catholic business owner from Missouri has become the first individual to sue the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its controversial contraception mandate, citing a violation of his constitutionally-protected religious beliefs.
Twila Brase
In a press release, the Citizen’s Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) announced a suit has been filed by the American Center for Law and Justice on behalf of St. Louis business owner Frank O’Brien. The suit is requesting a permanent injunction prohibiting HHS from requiring those who have religious objections to abide by the mandate.
The mandate, which has created a national religious freedom debate over the past few months, requires employers to purchase health insurance for their employees that includes coverage for contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.
The suit is the first legal challenge to the mandate from a private business owner. Until now, only religious organizations or institutions have brought lawsuits against the rule.
Twila Brase, president and co-founder of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF), a patient-centered national health policy organization based in St. Paul, Minn., says this first lawsuit certainly won’t be the last.
“This lawsuit is just one example of the multitude of Americans who want to stand up against the numerous mandates HHS and the Obama Administration have been pushing down our throats,” Brase said. “The Affordable Care Act—or Obamacare—is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen, and court cases are likely to emerge in rapid succession as the administration marches forward. Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear three days of arguments regarding the constitutionality of Obamacare, and we hope that they will see the light and restore Americans’ patient freedoms, religious freedoms and personal freedoms that are being taken away through government-mandated health care.”
O’Brien is a Catholic and the chairman of St. Louis-based O’Brien Industrial Holdings, LLC, which operates a number of businesses that explore, mine and process refractory and ceramic raw materials. O’Brien says his religious beliefs provide the framework for the operation of his businesses, which employ 87 people. The company website states its mission as “to make our labor a pleasing offering to the Lord while enriching our families and society.”
The State of Missouri has its own “contraceptives mandate,” but allows exemptions for those with religious objections. O’Brien’s lawyers argue that the federal government should make the same exceptions.
The lawsuit is asking the court to declare that the HHS mandate violates the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, naming the defendants as the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; the Department of the Treasury and Secretary Timothy Geithner; and the Department of Labor and Secretary Hilda Solis.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
