{"id":419,"date":"2012-06-28T15:03:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T15:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/supreme-court-upholds-health-care-law-individual-mandate\/"},"modified":"2012-06-28T15:03:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-28T15:03:00","slug":"supreme-court-upholds-health-care-law-individual-mandate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/supreme-court-upholds-health-care-law-individual-mandate\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court upholds health care law, individual mandate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Jun 28, 2012 \/ 09:03 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, drawing cries of disappointment and concern from pro-life and religious freedom advocates nationwide.<\/p>\n

\tChristen Varley, executive director of Conscience Cause, a nonpartisan advocacy organization that works to secure and defend religious freedom, said that she was \u201cextremely disappointed\u201d with the decision.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe first line of the First Amendment in our Constitution guarantees all Americans the right to religious freedom, as our forefathers intended,\u201d Varley said. \u201cNow, we have opened the door to a government that sees no limit to the amount of freedoms it can take away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn a 5-4 decision, the court ruled on June 28 that the law is constitutional, including an individual mandate that requires virtually all individuals to purchase health insurance plans.<\/p>\n

\tThe justices said that while this mandate does not fall within the powers afforded by the commerce clause, the penalty that people must pay if they refuse to buy insurance can be understood instead as a kind of tax that Congress is authorized to impose under its taxing power.<\/p>\n

\tThe decision means that the fight over a separate and highly controversial federal contraception mandate will continue. The mandate would have automatically perished if the law had been struck down. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tIssued by the Department of Health and Human Services under authority granted by the Affordable Care Act, the mandate will require employers to offer health insurance plans that cover contraception, sterilization and early abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences.<\/p>\n

\tThe mandate has drawn widespread criticism from individuals and organizations representing a variety of religious and political backgrounds. Lawsuits challenging the regulation have been filed by more than 50 plaintiffs across the country.<\/p>\n

\tBishops from every diocese in the U.S. have spoken out against the mandate, warning that it poses a severe threat to the religious liberty of those who object to it.<\/p>\n

\tVarley said that the mandate \u201crepresents an egregious affront to religious liberty\u201d and vowed that Conscience Cause would continue working with people of all faiths to petition Congress \u201cto overrule this devastating policy, which undermines our religious freedom.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

\tCritics have also spoken out against a provision under the 2010 law regulating involuntary funding of insurance plans that cover elective abortions.<\/p>\n

\tThis will take place through a monthly surcharge for all people enrolled in plans covering abortion.<\/p>\n

\tRegulations issued under the Affordable Care Act require that the surcharge be at least one dollar per month, but they do not dictate any maximum rate, and nothing prohibits insurance companies from charging substantially more to pay for abortions.<\/p>\n

\tThis provision lacks a religious or moral exemption, and it forbids insurers from telling enrollees how much of their money is going to fund other people\u2019s abortions, making it difficult for them to withhold that portion of their premium.<\/p>\n

\tMarjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which works to elect and mobilize pro-life women, said that the Affordable Care Act was \u201cfundamentally flawed\u201d from the very beginning \u201cbecause it makes American taxpayers complicit in the deaths of countless unborn children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOver the last four years, President Obama has revealed his loyalty to the abortion industry,\u201d Dannenfelser said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAs the presidential race heats up, the Susan B. Anthony List will continue to remind American voters where the President\u2019s allegiance truly lies,\u201d she vowed. \u201cWe will not stop fighting until every U.S. taxpayer is freed from under-writing the abortion business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

Washington D.C., Jun 28, 2012 \/ 09:03 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, drawing cries of disappointment and concern from pro-life and religious freedom advocates nationwide.<\/p>\n

\tChrist…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nSupreme Court upholds health care law, individual mandate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Jun 28, 2012 \/ 09:03 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, drawing cries of disappointment and concern from pro-life and religious freedom advocates nationwide. 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