Yet another lawsuit has been filed by a family-owned business and its major shareholder (who is also president of the company) challenging the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate. Plaintiff Lilli Johnson, a Catholic, is a 50% stockholder of the Ohio company that manufactures air brake components; her 7 children own the remaining 50%. The complaint (
full text) in
Johnson Welded Products, Inc. v. Sebelius, (D DC, filed 4/30/2012) alleges that the mandate is inconsistent with plaintiffs' Catholic religious beliefs:
As part of its corporate philosophy, JWP and its owners "subscribe to the Golden Rule".... The Golden Rule carries with it the command from Jesus to love one another as He has loved us. And Jesus loved us first and foremost by doing the will of the Father. Consequently, the Golden Rule is a mandate to follow God's law, which the contraceptive services mandate violates.
As part of its corporate philosophy, JWP and its owners "are continually aware that [their] success depends," in large measure, on their "freedom to exist as a private enterprise." This freedom to exist as a private enterprise includes the freedom to operate JWP consistent with the Catholic religious beliefs and convictions of its owners....
The complaint alleges violations of the 1st Amendment, RFRA and the Administrative Procedure Act. American Freedom Law Center
announced the filing of the lawsuit.
