In what is now an additional setback for religious liberty advocates, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Obama administration by denying an injunction for a company seeking relief from the Health and Human Services Mandate.
The Health and Humans Services Mandate is a provision of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, that mandates that all employers provide their employees with healthcare plans that include contraception, abortafacients, and sterilization. Undoubtedly, the bill conflicts with many ethical and moral values held through America's faith community.
According to the Washington Times
"Judges on the 6th Circuit, seated in Cincinnati, said Tuesday that a Michigan-based manufacturing company named Autocam must comply with the mandate even though it would violate the owners’ Roman Catholic beliefs."
John Kennedy, president of Autocam, and other plaintiffs who sued over the mandate, said the Obama administration’s rule required them to choose among violating their beliefs, dropping Autocam employees’ health care coverage or facing massive fines for flouting the mandate."
Opponents of the measure view Wednesday's loss as a setback given the recent victory given to craft store giant, Hobby Lobby, whose evangelical owners insist that the mandate handed down by the Health and Human Services department conflicts with a business owners desire to practice his or her business in accord with the principles of his or her own faith. Hobby Lobby was granted an injunction against the mandate by an appeals court in July.
U.S. Supreme Court observers have signaled that conflicting rulings through the Unites States on the HHS Mandate indicate that it is likely that the Supreme Court will have to weigh in on the issue.