Attorney
General Mike DeWine
AGs
Call for Broader Exceptions to Obamacare
Mandate Violating Religious Liberty
(COLUMBUS,
Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike
DeWine today joined attorneys general from 12 other states in urging
the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to adopt broader
religious
exceptions to the HHS mandate that many businesses and non-profit
organizations
purchase specified insurance products even when it violates their
sincerely-held religious beliefs. The attorneys general voiced their
concerns
in a letter sent today to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
"Despite
repeated claims to the contrary,
President Obama's proposed rules clearly require Ohio employers and
religious
organizations to violate their consciences," said Attorney General
DeWine.
"I urge that these rules be replaced to protect Ohioans' religious
liberty
and to avoid continued litigation over these illegal mandates."
To
implement the Affordable Care Act, HHS
mandated last year that "non-grandfathered," non-exempt employers,
including those with religious and conscience-based objections, would
have to
provide coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive methods and
sterilization
procedures, including the "morning-after pill" and the
"week-after pill." Today's letter is a public comment on proposed
amendments HHS claims addresses faith and conscience-based objections
that were
raised to the original mandate.
The
letter identifies several problems with the
proposed regulations under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That
federal
law imposes "strict scrutiny" of all federal government actions that
substantially burden the exercise of religion. The proposed regulations
give
only some very limited class of nonprofit religious organizations an
exception
to the mandate, even though there is no compelling reason to treat
different
religious organizations differently. For nonprofit religious
organizations not
covered by the exception, the regulations require insurance companies
to provide
"free" coverage for "reproductive services." The letter
describes that plan as a "shell game" and "accounting
gimmick," and the religious organizations are still required to take
actions that facilitate the provision of coverage to which they object.
The
letter states, "We all know that insurance companies do not provide
anything for free; the employers are still going to be paying for these
services through increased premiums or otherwise even if the insurance
company
technically covers those products through a separate 'free' policy." Lastly, and very
significantly, the
regulations provide no exception at all for for-profit business owners
who
object on conscience grounds.
"These
regulations will force many Ohio
employers to choose between harsh penalties and violating their
conscience," Attorney General DeWine said. "The unfortunate reality
is that many employers will cease to offer health insurance or will be
coerced
into acting against their consciences, and the work of charities will
be
impeded. This is another example of why Obamacare is bad policy, and it
is
another reason why I have joined attorneys general across this county
to
protect American families from its illegal overreach."
In
addition to Ohio, the letter was signed by
attorneys general from Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho,
Kansas,
Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
Attorney
General DeWine reiterated that the
state is pursuing litigation in defense of religious liberties. Ohio is
a party
to a religious liberty lawsuit challenging the regulations, and the
state has
filed amicus briefs in other related cases in the United States Sixth
Circuit
Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the District
of
Columbia.
A
copy of the attorneys' general letter is
available on the Ohio Attorney General's website.
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