Obamacare Ruling May Spark Christian Civil Disobedience
The United States Supreme Court on Thursday issued a 5-4 split decision upholding Obamacare as constitutional as a tax. The High Court also ruled that Congress could levy penalties on individuals with no health insurance.
Now, some Christian leaders are suggesting civil disobedience—and others are vowing it.
Rob Schenck lead missionary of Faith and Action and one of the only evangelical leaders inside the Court during the arguments, is challenging people of faith to stay true to their convictions.
As Schenck sees it, this opinion may allow the government to compel people to pay into the system, but it can’t compel any of us to abandon our most deeply held convictions. He calls it a moral, spiritual and ethical crisis.
“People of conscience will need to make difficult decisions, including engaging in conscientious objection or even respectful civil disobedience, which may bring painful penalties with it,” Schenck says. “It’s time to be prayerful, brave, and strong. From here on we will need help from God and from one another.”
Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation, takes that thought one step further.
“We will not comply with this socialistic and oppressive law that forces us to not only purchase insurance we may not want, but more importantly, forces us to violate our consciences and fund abortion coverage,” says Newman. “We must demand that Congress change the law for the good of our nation. If Congress will not change it, we still will not comply.”