Florida Federal judge bans enforcement of HHS mandate

A federal judge in Florida has issued a preliminary injunction banning enforcement of the HHS Mandate.  The motion was filed by the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) on behalf of Plaintiffs Thomas R. Beckwith and his family’s company, Beckwith Electric.

The Government claimed that once a business owner chooses to enter into the marketplace or incorporate his business, he surrenders his right to exercise his religious beliefs. However, Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich’s 37-page decision ended with a powerful statement on religious freedom:

 “The First Amendment, and its statutory corollary the RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act), endow upon the citizens of the United States the unalienable right to exercise religion, and that right is not relinquished by efforts to engage in free enterprise under the corporate form. No legislative, executive, or judicial officer shall corrupt the Framers' initial expression, through their enactment of laws, enforcement of those laws, or more importantly, their interpretation of those laws. And any action that debases, or cheapens, the intrinsic value of the tenet of religious tolerance that is entrenched in the Constitution cannot stand.” (Emphasis added) 

Erin Mersino, last week’s guest on Faith on Trail on Iowa Catholic Radio, was TMLC’s lead attorney, and commented, “Tom Beckwith was fighting the Federal Government for the freedom to practice his Southern Baptist faith.  The HHS Mandate would have forced him to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs in violation of his religious beliefs or face up to $6 million in annual penalties. Kovachevich’s ruling halts enforcement of the HHS mandate until a final decision is reached in this case.”
 
The Attorney General of the State of Florida filed a friend of the court brief in support of the Thomas More Law Center, as did several other Christian organizations, including the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.