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The bill, which passed through the state senate on a 26-6 vote and through the house on a 109-45 vote, is now law in Missouri and provides citizens of that state with serious religious freedom protections.
Not only that, but the new law actually provides the extra safeguard of giving Missourians grounds on which to sue should their religious exemptions be violated.
According to the Associated Press:
The new law allows individuals, employers and insurers to cite religious or moral exemptions from mandatory insurance coverage for abortion, contraception, and sterilization. It also gives the state attorney general — or other individuals and entities — grounds to file lawsuits claiming an infringement of rights if they are compelled to cover contraception.The Missouri Catholic Conference contends this new law protects freedom of conscience by “[upholding] religious liberty in a very practical way.” And this means that “under this bill, no one can be forced to pay for surgical abortions, abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives or sterilizations when this violates their moral or religious beliefs.”
This law represents one more step Americans have taken to fight for freedoms that used to be held inviolate before ObamaCare and the subsequent abortion pill mandate were placed upon their backs.
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It follows in the steps of Hercules Industries, Hobby Lobby, Seneca Hardware Lumber and others in suing to stop the mandate from taking effect.
It also follows Geneva College, Wheaton College, Biola University, and Grace College and Seminary, to name just a few who are seeking legal protection from the freedom crushing mandate.
The Missouri lawmakers who overrode their Governor’s veto are blazing a trail for freedom in a manner reminiscent of the Founding Fathers: men who were well acquainted with the fighting for liberty against an overbearing government that ruled by edict (or in our case, mandate).
As Alliance Defending Freedom said when the Supreme Court infamously upheld ObamaCare on June 28, the battle against the abortion pill mandate is still far from over. And Missouri lawmakers have proven that is so.
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