News

Feb 3, 2012

Since at least one lawmaker recognizes that people won't change their religious beliefs to comply with a government mandate, a bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to protect religious organizations from ObamaCare.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012, sponsored by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), would protect the right of conscience for religious organizations by expanding the exemption for religious employers in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel reports, the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a regulation requiring free insurance coverage for birth control, giving religious groups one year to adapt.

"The fact of the matter is the one-year reprieve does not eliminate the serious collision that ObamaCare has with freedom of conscience and religious freedom," Staver explains. "Your religious convictions aren't going to change over a year."

Matt StaverRubio's bill would ban the administration from forcing religious organizations to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs. The lawmaker says, "This is a common-sense bill that simply says the government can't force religious organizations to abandon the fundamental tenets of their faith because the government says so."

"Religious organizations will be forced to choose between complying with ObamaCare or putting aside their religious beliefs," Staver adds. "Many religious organizations simply will not make that decision. They will not sacrifice their religious beliefs because of some ill-conceived government power grab known as ObamaCare."


While work is under way to gain passage of the measure, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments in cases designed to overturn ObamaCare altogether.