Obamacare Targeted in State Rep's Lawsuit

A Missouri State Representative who is unhappy that his health insurance now includes coverage of contraception has filed suit against the U.S. government alleging a violation of his civil liberties. Rep. Paul Wieland (R-102nd) and his wife, Terri, believe an Affordable Care Act mandate requiring this type of coverage not only violates their First Amendment rights, but prevents them from raising their children according to their faith.

In August 2012, FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling were added to the Affordable Care Act's list of preventive services. Abortion drugs are not included in the mandate.

Wieland, who is Catholic, received notification last month that his health care plan was changing to include birth control, according to a news release from his office. He previously declined this type of coverage.

“The MCHCP and the Obamacare health plan forces my family to participate in what we feel is an intrinsic evil," Wieland said in the release. "My family believes abortion is the intentional destruction of innocent human life which according to our beliefs is gravely immoral.”

The couple also believes the mandate interferes with their ability to raise their three children.

"We are role models to our daughters. Therefore my husband and I refuse to condone, whether through financial support or through access in our healthcare, abortion inducing drugs, sterilizations or contraceptives," Terri Wieland explained in the release.

The suit, which names the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Labor, was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

The couple is being represented by the Thomas More Society.

"The intention of the founding fathers was to protect people from government imposition into their religious convictions. Instead, the federal government is now coercing our clients into abandoning their religious views...," attorney Timothy Belz said.

Browse a copy of the lawsuit.