Obamacare mandates threaten religious freedom critique

 I chose to critique John Kennedy's column from the article titled "Obamacare mandates threaten religious freedom" because it talks about his opinion of the new affordable health care act. John Kennedy creates the argument that Obamacare is threatening people's religious beliefs due to the "forced" nature of the mandate. As stated in the article, John Kennedy states that the mandate is forcing him and his family to pick between the teachings of their faith, and the operation of their business. John Kennedy being a serious catholic business owner, creates an argument that his religion is at risk from all the options offered by Obamacare. The author talks about the three options offered by Obamacare, that are each unacceptable according to his beliefs; The first option being, violating his faith by complying with the mandate and providing his employees with insurance that covers contraception and sterilization; paying over $16,000,000 in fines per year which will destroy his business resulting in his employees being out of work; or cutting his employees' health benefits so that they do not have to violate their beliefs.They believe contraceptives and sterilization, both violate the first amendment. Even though Kennedy gives reasons as to why he thinks that the mandate violates his faith, he is simply stating his emotions, not facts. Kennedy is depending on his readers to be traditional religious people so he can have a greater effect in spreading his opinion and so he can gain empathy. The author's lack of evidence in the article dismisses his argument to have importance, thus hurting his point. I believe the author's logic is just based on his beliefs.