Supreme Court requests additional briefing on key Obamacare case

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Less than a week after an order of Catholic nuns asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a religious exemption to the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act (also known as "Obamacare"), the Court took the unusual step of asking for additional briefing, telling both sides to come up with alternative ways to avoid forcing the nuns to violate their religious beliefs.

The Little Sisters of the Poor are a 177-year-old order of religious women who care for the underprivileged elderly in 27 U.S. cities, including Somerville, Massachusetts. The sisters claim that under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act they are entitled to an exemption from a regulation, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services under Obamacare, that requires all employer health plans to provide coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations and some abortifacients. The Little Sisters argue that some of the drugs and services that the law covers are not permissible under Catholic teaching.