Sen. Emily Cain, D-Penobscot
The U.S. Supreme Court heard cases regarding the Affordable Care Act’s infringement on the religious conscience of American business owners Wednesday. State Sen. Emily Cain (D-Penobscot), a Democratic candidate for Congress in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, took the opportunity to let her supporters know that she stands with Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on issues of religious conscience.
“Inside the Supreme Court, oral arguments are being heard in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius,” Cain campaign manager Levi Knapp wrote in an email. “In both cases, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will argue that no employer or politician should be able to interfere with a woman’s health care decisions, including access to contraception.”
Contrary to Knapp’s assertion, the question before the Supreme Court is not whether employers or politicians should be able to “interfere” in a woman’s health care. The question before the Supreme Court is whether politicians can compel employers to provide health insurance plans that violate an employer’s religious beliefs by paying for contraception and abortifacients.
Both Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius revolve around the question of whether the religious owners of a family business, or their closely held, for-profit corporation, have free exercise rights that are violated by the application of the contraceptive and abortifacient-coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
Standing with Sebelius, Cain is sending a clear message to voters that her view of religious freedom is the same as the Obama administration.
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