At least one federal judge sees that the Obamacare assault on religious freedom is a major red flag. Hercules Industries is a private heating/air conditioning company owned by Catholics, who self-insure. The Obamacare mandate would require the owners to provide insurance coverage for procedures and items that violate their religious beliefs. If they don’t, they must pay fines, which could put them out of business. The judge gave them a preliminary injunction.
Hannah Smith, senior counsel at the Becket Fund — which is challenging the contraception mandate in a separate lawsuit — hailed the ruling. “Judge Kane’s ruling today in favor of a religious for-profit plaintiff challenging the coercive HHS mandate got the law right,” she said in a statement. “Religious liberty rights don’t stop at the store-front door. This decision portends the demise of the current Administration’s attempts to drive religious activity from the public square and confine it within the four walls of a church.”
