Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled without dissent that the federal government was stayed from enforcing the Obamacare mandates against the Little Sisters of the Poor while the appeal of the case is pending. To say the least, this is a rather big hint from the Supreme Court about how they view this matter.
Let's start with the underlying issue. Under Obamacare, employers are mandated to provide health insurance that includes both birth control and morning after abortion coverage. The Little Sisters of the Poor are an order of Catholic nuns who provide hospice service in many locations across America as their mission. The nuns do not want to provide either birth control or abortion services since that would conflict with one of the basic tenets of their religion. The Obamacrats, however, will not agree to omit these requirements and instead demand that the Little Sisters of the Poor authorize someone else to provide the services on their behalf. For the nuns, this is no different than doing it themselves. They do not want to promote birth control or abortion since they see it as sin. The result has been a federal lawsuit in which there is a confrontation between freedom of religion and Obamacare mandates. After a decision in District Court, the case is now on appeal in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
While the appeal is pending, the federal government wants the Little Sisters of the Poor to comply with the mandate. The nuns asked the Supreme Court for a stay pending appeal, a move that would bar the government from forcing them to comply with the mandate until the appeal is decided. A few weeks ago, Justice Sotomayor issued the stay. Not content with that decision, the Obama administration appealed Sotomayor's ruling on the stay to the entire Supreme Court. Now the entire Court has unanimously ruled that the stay will stand. There can be no further dispute on the stay; this is a final decision.
While the Supreme Court has not spoken on the merits of the underlying dispute, their decision certainly seems to put the Court on the side of the nuns. If the justices thought that the position of the nuns was without merit, they would not have issued the stay. Indeed, it is a very rare thing for the entire Supreme Court to issue a stay of this sort. It is a message that is unlikely to be missed by the Tenth Circuit. More likely than not, we will soon hear that the Little Sisters of the Poor have beaten the Obamacrats in the Tenth Circuit appeal.
Let's start with the underlying issue. Under Obamacare, employers are mandated to provide health insurance that includes both birth control and morning after abortion coverage. The Little Sisters of the Poor are an order of Catholic nuns who provide hospice service in many locations across America as their mission. The nuns do not want to provide either birth control or abortion services since that would conflict with one of the basic tenets of their religion. The Obamacrats, however, will not agree to omit these requirements and instead demand that the Little Sisters of the Poor authorize someone else to provide the services on their behalf. For the nuns, this is no different than doing it themselves. They do not want to promote birth control or abortion since they see it as sin. The result has been a federal lawsuit in which there is a confrontation between freedom of religion and Obamacare mandates. After a decision in District Court, the case is now on appeal in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
While the appeal is pending, the federal government wants the Little Sisters of the Poor to comply with the mandate. The nuns asked the Supreme Court for a stay pending appeal, a move that would bar the government from forcing them to comply with the mandate until the appeal is decided. A few weeks ago, Justice Sotomayor issued the stay. Not content with that decision, the Obama administration appealed Sotomayor's ruling on the stay to the entire Supreme Court. Now the entire Court has unanimously ruled that the stay will stand. There can be no further dispute on the stay; this is a final decision.
While the Supreme Court has not spoken on the merits of the underlying dispute, their decision certainly seems to put the Court on the side of the nuns. If the justices thought that the position of the nuns was without merit, they would not have issued the stay. Indeed, it is a very rare thing for the entire Supreme Court to issue a stay of this sort. It is a message that is unlikely to be missed by the Tenth Circuit. More likely than not, we will soon hear that the Little Sisters of the Poor have beaten the Obamacrats in the Tenth Circuit appeal.
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