{"id":1500,"date":"2012-11-01T21:59:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T21:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/second-company-wins-injunction-against-hhs-mandate\/"},"modified":"2012-11-01T21:59:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-01T21:59:00","slug":"second-company-wins-injunction-against-hhs-mandate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/11\/second-company-wins-injunction-against-hhs-mandate\/","title":{"rendered":"Second company wins injunction against HHS mandate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov 1, 2012 \/ 03:59 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- A federal judge in Michigan has granted the second temporary injunction against the federal contraception mandate to plaintiffs who argue that it violates their right to freely practice their religion in business decisions.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis is not only a victory for our clients, but for religious freedom,\" said Erin Mersino, lead counsel on the case for the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Weingartz Supply Company and its president Daniel Weingartz.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe federal court has found that our clients have a likelihood of success and would be irreparably harmed by the unconstitutional overreaching of the HHS mandate,\u201d she explained in a statement.<\/p>\n

\tOn Oct. 31, U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland granted a preliminary injunction to block the enforcement of the mandate against the family owned and operated outdoor power equipment company while the case continues to move through the court system.<\/p>\n

\tWeingartz, a practicing Catholic, has filed a lawsuit to challenge the Health and Human Services mandate, which requires employers to provide health insurance plans that cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.<\/p>\n

\tIn filing the lawsuit, he was joined by Legatus, a non-profit organization of Catholic business owners and CEOs seeking to live out their faith in their professional and personal lives.<\/p>\n

\tBoth Weingartz Supply Company and Legatus currently offer employee health care plans that specifically exclude contraception, in accord with Church teaching. Neither qualifies for the strictly defined religious exemption to the mandate, which applies only to non-profit groups that exist to inculcate religious values and primarily employ and serve only members of their own faiths.<\/p>\n

\tIn today\u2019s decision, Judge Cleland granted the temporary injunction for Weingarts Supply Company, citing the fact that it would be required to provide the objectionable coverage starting on Jan.1, 2013.<\/p>\n

\tIn his opinion, he acknowledged that the mandate poses a risk \"of substantially infringing the sincere exercise of religious beliefs\u201d and said that the \u201closs of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.\"<\/p>\n

\tWhile the Obama administration has argued that for-profit companies cannot exercise religion, Cleland pointed to a previous court ruling that a corporation can \u201cassert the free exercise rights of its owners\u201d when it is closely held and is \u201c\u2018merely the instrument through and by which (the plaintiffs) exercise their religious beliefs.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAt the same time, Judge Cleland \u201cdenied without prejudice\u201d the motion for a preliminary injunction for Legatus, saying that the organization does not yet need such an injunction because it qualifies for a temporary safe harbor from the mandate until Aug. 1, 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\tThe federal government has promised that during the safe harbor period, it will issue an accommodation to respect the religious freedom of non-exempt religious groups that object to the mandate.<\/p>\n

\tHowever, this process \u2013 which was started in March 2012 \u2013 is still in its early stages, and numerous religious groups have said that the suggestions put forth by the government still fail to adequately protect religious liberty.<\/p>\n

\tJudge Cleland directed the federal government to file a statement on the status of the amendment process each month and made it clear that Legatus can bring its claim before the court again at a later time.<\/p>\n

\tIn total, nearly 40 lawsuits have been filed by more than 110 plaintiffs to challenge the contraception mandate. Most of these cases are still waiting to receive a court ruling, while a few have been dismissed as being premature, similar to the decision given for Legatus.<\/p>\n

\tIn July, Colorado-based Hercules Industries secured the first temporary injunction against the mandate. So far, Missouri-based O\u2019Brien Industrial Holdings is the only case that has lost in federal court, although it has said it is appealing the decision.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov 1, 2012 \/ 03:59 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- A federal judge in Michigan has granted the second temporary injunction against the federal contraception mandate to plaintiffs who argue that it violates their right to freely practice their r…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nSecond company wins injunction against HHS mandate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov 1, 2012 \/ 03:59 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- A federal judge in Michigan has granted the second temporary injunction against the federal contraception mandate to plaintiffs who argue that it violates their right to freely practice their r...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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