San Francisco (Obama.net)- The people of the United States have been strongly divided on the matter of whether or not the Health Care Reform is the right way to go for the American people. The matter was also hotly contested in Congress as Democrats fought for its passage while Republicans wanted the bill to get rejected.
Now, those who were not happy with the passage of the reform can see a glimmer of hope that the bill will not be going through as planned.
Monday, Virginian judge Henry Hudson found a clause in the reform bill that he saw as unconstitutional. The United States District Judge said that making every American buy health insurance within the next three years goes against the civil rights laid out in the United States Constitution.
The ruling is more than likely going to be appealed by the United States Justice Department. That will in turn lead to what is most likely going to be a series of appeals until the Supreme Court makes a final verdict.
Hudson made the claim that “An individual’s personal decision to purchase, or decline purchase, of health insurance from a private provider is beyond historical reach of the U.S. Constitution. No specifically articulated constitutional authority exists to mandate the purchase of health insurance.”
Hudson’s decision is different from other judges ruling over the same matter. Another Virginian judge, as well as one from Michigan, have said that the aspect of the reform is constitutional.
Hudson and other Virginian elites have taken the stance that the Commerce Clause in the US Constitution should not give Congress the right to make people buy an optional insurance that may not be necessary for all Americans.
Virginia’s state constitution says that its citizens cannot be made to buy any form of insurance.
Obama has already been urged to appeal the decision and take the matter to a higher court.
The White House released a statement saying it was not happy with the ruling, but that it believed that after the appeals process goes through and the matter is resolved, the entire Health Care Reform will be ruled Constitutional.
While some may be happy that a shot has been taken at the hotly debated Health Care Reform, all legal precedents and an inspection of the Constitution shows that the Obama Administration and the United States Congress acted in their full authority and did nothing to go against the Constitution.
Leave a Reply