Individual mandate struck down
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2010 /
Christian Newswire/ -- A federal judge today struck down the requirement that individuals carry health insurance. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled that the individual mandate in President Obama's signature health care bill exceeds Congress' authority. Concerned Women for America (CWA) vigorously opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act throughout its construction.
Penny Nance, Chief Executive Officer for CWA, said:
"It is good to see that we still have judges who take seriously the oath they took to operate within the powers granted to them by the Constitution. The court recognized that the federal government has no power to force Americans to buy a private good and penalize them if they do not. It is nonsensical for the federal government to argue that not engaging in an economic activity is, in fact, an 'economic activity' in the law.
"The individual mandate is just one part of the many troubling issues with ObamaCare. This ruling represents the first step in protecting families from an overreaching federal government that is out of control. We hope the ruling is upheld on appeal and that Congress takes the necessary action to repeal the entire law to fully protect families and children."
Wendy Wright, President of CWA, stated:
"This ruling could be better only if it had struck down the entire bill. Removing the linchpin of the individual mandate may cause the entire house of cards to come tumbling down. To save America's health care system from a mass exodus by doctors and rationing patients' care, it will be necessary for ObamaCare to die, whether by the courts or Congress."
Shari Rendall, Director of Legislation and Public Policy for CWA, stated:
"Americans should not be forced to buy health insurance they don't want or need or to subsidize abortions. Hopefully, this ruling will be the first step in the process to ensure that the government doesn't mandate health care but opens the door for meaningful reform."
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
