Justice delays birth control mandate

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor blocked a birth control mandate in ObamaCare that would have forced some religion-affiliated organizations to provide employee health insurance that includes contraceptive coverage.

{mosads}Sotomayor acted on a request from an organization of Catholic nuns in Denver that requested an emergency stay, according to The Associated Press.

The government is “temporarily enjoined from enforcing against applicants the contraceptive coverage requirements imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” Sotomayor said in the order.

She gave government officials until 10 a.m. EST Friday to respond to her order.

The healthcare reform law requires employers to provide insurance that covers a range of preventive care, including contraception, free of charge. Opponents of the policy argue that it violates the religious freedom of business owners that object to contraception.