Public Safety or Freedom of Religion?

The Cattaraugus County Board of Health will start fining a couple of Amish families for not installing necessary sanitation devices in their outhouses. The two East Otto Amish families who obtained permits but later refused to install the specially designed wooden boxes have been fined $200 each, and will be fined $10 a day until they install the septic systems. The families say installing the septic systems goes against their religion. A similar situation is being played out in Cambria County, where two Amish farmers were sentenced to 90 days in jail for not operating outhouses according to state sewage laws. Now a defense attorney says the sentences were excessive and violated their constitutional rights to freedom of religion. The county prosecutor says the case is about public safety, not the First Amendment.