At the rate things are going, Obamacare may be nearly dismantled by the time it reaches the Supreme Court for the second time.
Last week, the Obamacare abortion mandate — part of the Affordable Care Act that essentially forced Christian businesses that weren’t churches to pay for abortions — was defeated in a United States District Court for the District of North Dakota.
The suit was brought by The Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) alleging that the abortifacent mandate was a violation of religious liberty. North Dakota District Chief Judge Hovland agreed saying the CEA and its “members will suffer irreparable harm to their ability to practice their religious beliefs” if the mandate were to remain in place.
The Trump administration paved the way for the ruling back in 2017 via a rule change that said businesses were exempt from the mandate if it ran counter to their religious beliefs.
The Trump administration announced today that employers will now be exempt from the federal requirement to provide insurance coverage for contraception in their health insurance plans if it conflicts with their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs. This now limits a rule created under the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act that required that employers, including non-church religious organizations, must cover all forms of contraception, from birth control pills to abortion drugs and devices at no cost to the employees.
The CEA formed back in 2016 to tackle exactly these issues after the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religiously-affiliated groups were forced to defend themselves against the Obama-era Health and Human Services agency.
“This is a major victory for Christian employers who believe in high-quality healthcare that promotes the protection of human life. The ruling allows us to faithfully follow our mission to unite and equip Christian employers with advocacy, practical resources, and collective impact opportunities for the well-being of employees, organizations, and communities for God’s glory,” said Jim Mischel, CEA president following the ruling in North Dakota.
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