CatholicVote.org » autocam http://www.catholicvote.org Wed, 22 May 2013 21:04:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 John Kennedy vs. Barack Obama http://www.catholicvote.org/john-kennedy-vs-barack-obama/ http://www.catholicvote.org/john-kennedy-vs-barack-obama/#comments Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:02:13 +0000 Joshua Mercer http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=41595 The CatholicVote.org Legal Action Fund is representing John Kennedy in a lawsuit against the Obama administration.

Here’s what he had to say:

Does health care reform mean forcing family businesses run by Christians to pay for drugs and procedures they believe are immoral, including drugs like the “morning after pill,” Plan B, and Ella, a derivative of the abortion drug RU-486? Are life-ending drugs more important than life-saving ones?

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the answer is yes.

Read the rest of Kennedy’s op-ed over at washingtonpost.com.

]]> http://www.catholicvote.org/john-kennedy-vs-barack-obama/feed/ 6 Abortion-Inducing Drugs vs. Insulin: The Lack of Justice in the HHS Mandate http://www.catholicvote.org/lack-of-in-the-hhs-mandate/ http://www.catholicvote.org/lack-of-in-the-hhs-mandate/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:43:44 +0000 John Kennedy http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=37697 The following is a guest post by John Kennedy, CEO of Autocam. Kennedy is the business owner that filed suit last week, through our Legal Defense Fund, against Kathleen Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Services to oppose the HHS Mandate. You can read more about the lawsuit here: CatholicVote.org/Freedom

Are abortion-inducing drugs or insulin more important?

That’s a question I have found myself asking in the last few weeks.  Last week, my family filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Using authority created by President Obama’s health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act, Kathleen Sebelius and other HHS officials have created an unjust, arbitrary mandate that violates my faith and common sense.

The HHS mandate requires my family, through the health care plans we provide to our associates, to pay for drugs, procedures, and counseling that violate our beliefs. These beliefs are founded not only in our faith but also in reason and what science tells us about when human life begins.

Even if you don’t share my beliefs, the mandate requires coverage for the wrong drugs and procedures.  It does nothing to decrease cost or improve access to drugs like insulin or heart medication and forces employers to pay the full cost of products like abortion-inducing drugs.  Why is the Obama administration prioritizing controversial life-ending drugs over life-saving drugs?

Unlike a Type 1 diabetic’s decision to continue using insulin, the decision to use contraception, sterilization, or abortion-inducing drugs is a personal choice.  These are purely elective services.  In fact, our plan already covers medically necessary contraception, that is, oral contraceptives prescribed to treat conditions like endometriosis.

Simply put, the mandate in the Affordable Care Act now compels me to offer, free of charge, non–medically necessary drugs and procedures that violate my religious beliefs.  If a diabetic has to pay co-pays and deductibles for insulin, is it truly just to force nearly all employers to provide free abortion-inducing drugs?

[The following is the video (television commercial) that Kennedy and CatholicVote produced to inform and educate voters about the lawsuit, and the HHS Mandate. It is currently running on television in 5 battleground television markets]:

]]> http://www.catholicvote.org/lack-of-in-the-hhs-mandate/feed/ 23 Kennedy, Obama, and Religious Freedom http://www.catholicvote.org/kennedy-obama-and-religious-freedom/ http://www.catholicvote.org/kennedy-obama-and-religious-freedom/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:14:40 +0000 Joseph Koss http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=37367 As many of you know, we joined with John Kennedy, the CEO of Autocam, and filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration on Monday. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the HHS Mandate.

Kathryn Lopez, an occasional contributor here at CatholicVote and well known National Review writer, recently interviewed John Kennedy about the suit. It takes a deeper look at exactly why Kennedy is going forward with this suit.

Since the suit was filed, the comment boxes on our blog, as well as the news sites that have covered the story, have lit up with commentary from people on both sides of the issue. One of the main attacks that Kennedy has faced is people accusing him of imposing his beliefs on his employees.

Lopez asked him about that:

LOPEZ: What business of yours is it what your employees do in their personal lives, with their health care?

KENNEDY: I am not trying to prevent access to anything that’s legal in the U.S. today. I don’t tell my employees how to live their lives or how to make decisions about family planning or abortion. In fact, our employees can purchase anything that the IRS defines as a “medical expense” — including a surgical abortion — with pre-tax dollars through their HSAs (health savings accounts). I’m simply trying to ensure that my family does not spend our money in a way that directly supports conduct that violates our deeply held beliefs.

This really is about principle for Kennedy, and isn’t just some political stunt or soap-box. In fact, Kennedy addresses that question as well:

LOPEZ: Why sue now? Is it an election stunt?

KENNEDY: It’s anything but an election stunt. We’re suing now because, if we don’t obtain relief from the court, we will be forced to choose between the three unsustainable options that I outlined above by January 1, 2013. In fact, we need to make a decision by November 1, 2012, in order to continue to offer health care next year. The mandate does take effect in the midst of the election season, and we hope that that fact will help us raise awareness and influence health-care policy in a way that prevents the violation of our first freedoms and makes it possible for employers like Autocam to offer high-quality insurance.

Go read the article.

Watch the video.

Chip in to help.

But most importantly, spread the message. The number one most effective method of informing and changing the hearts and minds of people is always one-to-one contact. So email our post about this issue to a friend or fellow parishioner and then follow it up with a phone call. With only a few weeks left before the election, we need to make sure every Catholic knows what hangs in the balance.

]]> http://www.catholicvote.org/kennedy-obama-and-religious-freedom/feed/ 9 Autocam & CatholicVote file lawsuit against Dept. HHS to fight mandate http://www.catholicvote.org/autocam-catholicvote-files-lawsuit-against-dept-hhs-to-fight-mandate/ http://www.catholicvote.org/autocam-catholicvote-files-lawsuit-against-dept-hhs-to-fight-mandate/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:06:55 +0000 CatholicVote http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=36924 Autocam Video – “In Good Conscience” :

What is the HHS Mandate?

When President Obama introduced the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) there was general confusion as to what implications it would have regarding abortions and tax dollars being spent on morally objectionable services. Yet, the situation became worse towards the end of 2011. That is when it became apparent that not only were abortion services going to be covered by the national health care plan, but that in fact all health insurance plans were going to be required to cover sterilization,  abortion-inducing drugs, and other morally objectionable services and medications due to the mandate by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The HHS mandate, as it has become known, was directed by Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. It requires all businesses and organizations (except for a very limited number that are exempt via a very narrow exception) to cover these services. At that point, several organizations filed suit, separate and distinct from the major lawsuit that was upheld this summer by the Supreme Court.

Most employers and Catholic organizations realized that there was no choice but to oppose the mandate on constitutional grounds, as it was morally repugnant to their religious beliefs. Most Catholics believe it is morally unacceptable to comply with the law, and therefore it must be challenged, rather than comply with it.

Fighting Back Against the HHS Mandate:

John Kennedy, CEO of Autocam (Grand Rapids, MI), is one of the brave business owners fighting back against the HHS Mandate. As a Catholic, the things mandated to be covered within the health care plans that John provides his associates are contrary to John’s deeply held religious beliefs. So John, together with CatholicVote, is fighting back.

On Monday, October 8th, 2012, John Kennedy, through the CatholicVote.org Legal Defense Fund, filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services, and its Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (a Catholic). The purpose of the suit is to compel the court to strike down the mandate as unconstitutional.

John has also filmed a web-video and television advertisement that informs others about this fight. The video is being circulated to national media, will be featured on the CatholicVote.org website, and will air on television on several stations around the country between now and the election. (See the video below.)

The Origins of the Lawsuit:

Autocam employs over 1500 people world wide, and 680 people in the United States and offers top of the line health insurance that includes no-cost preventative services. Because of the HHS Mandate, John is being forced to choose between violating his Catholic faith by providing the HHS required services in his health plan or dropping coverage from his employees. Neither option is acceptable to John, and that is why he is filing suit.

Autocam Corp. v. Sebelius Resources & Information:

How you can help:

The lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be expensive. We need your help to make sure that John, his associates, and millions of other people across the country aren’t forced by the government to choose between doing the right thing and violating their religious beliefs.

Help us today and do your part to protect religious freedom!

Press & Media Coverage:

This page is dedicated to Autocam’s lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (Dept. HHS). The HHS Mandate went into effect on August 1st, 2012. The page will be updated as developments occur in the lawsuit, and as new information becomes available.

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