The madness of Obamacare |
| March 28, 2014 |
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By Congressman Raul Labrador This week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case that will help decide the future of religious freedom in America. The justices are weighing the constitutionality of one of the most controversial aspects of Obamacare - the requirement that employers must provide birth control and abortifacients to their employees, even if doing so violates their deeply-held religious beliefs. The main case centers around Hobby Lobby, an arts-and-crafts chain based in Oklahoma City that is run on biblical principles. For example, they close on Sundays and refuse to sell shot glasses. They object to the life-terminating drugs and devices required under the Obamacare mandate (better known as the “HHS mandate”) on religious grounds. And yet, if they don’t follow the mandate, they are facing annual fines of $36,500 per employee, which comes out to nearly $657 million per year. A lower court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will make the final call. Their ruling is expected in June. Of all the horrendous aspects of Obamacare, the HHS mandate is one of the worst. Where does the federal government get the nerve to tell people they must spend money on something they find morally objectionable, such as abortifacients? There is nothing in the Constitution – not even in the much-abused “Commerce Clause” – that would lead someone to that conclusion. This is the madness of Obamacare: Not only is the federal government requiring people to buy something for the first time in American history, they are requiring businesses and individuals to buy specific types of insurance, even if it violates their conscience. No American should be forced to choose between following their faith and submitting to unlawful and unnecessary government mandates. Those of us who support Hobby Lobby – and the scores of other companies that have challenged the mandate in court – simply want to reestablish what was – up until recently – the status quo in America: freedom of conscience, and more specifically, the freedom to live according to our religious values, without being penalized by a power-mad government. Americans don’t give up their freedom when they open a family business. Every day, Obamacare is unraveling before our eyes. Just this week, the President announced another major delay in the law’s implementation. We’re now at 10 major delays since the law took effect – all of them done without Congressional approval (a full list of the delays can be found here). I will continue to oppose Obamacare because it’s one of the most economically and socially destructive laws in U.S. history. And I will continue to stand for religious freedom, because it is truly the “first freedom” and one of the key pillars of the American Dream. I expect the Supreme Court will see it that way too. |