A bipartisan amicus brief signed by 207 House and Senate members was filed on Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting religious non-profits and charities, including Little Sisters of the Poor, in challenging Obamacare’s Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate.
“Despite RFRA’s command that the religious beliefs of all individuals and organizations be accorded the same deference, HHS has given the religious liberties of religious non-profits second-tier status,” the brief says.
The brief, announced by U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Diane Black (R-TN) and Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and James Lankford (R-OK), will be heard this year in the case of Zubik vs. Burwell.
“The HHS mandate remains a hideous component of a disastrous law that puts government’s power over people’s rights,” Kelly said. “It puts this administration on the wrong side of our nation’s long and cherished history of religious liberty and tolerance—and deserves to be defeated. With this amicus brief, my colleagues and I stand side by side with the Little Sisters of the Poor and all those whose First Amendment rights have been trampled under this president’s agenda. I expect the Supreme Court to ultimately free these heroic nuns from the mandate’s oppressive penalties and allow them to continue serving a country where religious freedom is not just settled but celebrated. No government program or politician must ever be permitted to punish American citizens for peacefully following their faith—period.”
According to the amicus brief’s argument, religious freedom is a fundamental guarantee of not only the U.S. Constitution but also of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which unanimously passed the House and passed the Senate by a vote of 97-3. The bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Nov. 16, 1993.
“It is hard to imagine what could possibly be more pure or worthwhile than the ministry of Little Sisters of the Poor and the other religious nonprofits represented in this case,” Black said. “We should be praising their work, not punishing it. Sadly, that is exactly what Obamacare’s coercive HHS mandate will do. The law sets up an impossible choice for these organizations: deny their deeply held beliefs and provide coverage for drugs they deem to be morally objectionable, or face crippling financial penalties from the federal government. This is a pivotal moment for religious freedom and I am honored to lend my voice and my prayers to the growing chorus calling on the Supreme Court to rectify this crisis and protect these time-honored rights from government attack when this case is heard later this year.”