(PDF of ruling embedded below the post.)
While a separate lawsuit filed by seven states saw court ruling that did not favor their argument against the Obama's HHS mandate, which requires religious organizations to provide access to insurance that provides contraception, sterilization procedures and abortion-inducing drugs, because the judge in that case found the the plaintiffs did not face any immediate harm from the law, a far different outcome occurred when Catholic business owners filed for an injunction preventing the Obama administration from enforcing the mandate.
The Catholic family that owns a Colorado-based company won a court victory in their battle to stop the Obama administration from requiring them to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception, a mandate they say violates their religious beliefs and First Amendment rights.
Hercules Industries, a Denver-based heating ventilation and air conditioning manufacturer that employs nearly 300 full-time workers, got an injunction in federal court which stops enforcement of the controversial ObamaCare mandate. The company's lawyers said they needed the injunction immediately because if the mandate is enforced, it must begin immediately making changes to its health plan, which renews on Nov. 1.
The case is similar to ones brought by Catholic-based colleges that have refused to provide employee insurance with such coverage, except this time, it is a secular corporation.
In his order, Colorado District Judge John Kane said that the government’s arguments “are countered, and indeed outweighed, by the public interest in the free exercise of religion."
There are currently over 20 lawsuits pending around the country against the HHS mandate.
More at LifeNews.
[Update] More from The Hill and Washington Post.
18 page ruling embedded below.
Preliminary Injunction Order- Newland v. Sebelius
