So, what’s going on, here?
Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Obama administration from forcing some religious-affiliated groups to provide health insurance coverage of birth control or face penalties as part of the Affordable Care Act.
Acting at the request of an order of nuns in Colorado, Justice Sotomayor issued the stay just hours before the requirement was to go into effect on New Year’s Day. She gave the Obama administration until Friday to respond to the Supreme Court.
Well, it’s not completely complicated: just perhaps a little surprising to people who assumed that Barack Obama has managed to do what no other President has ever done and installed 120% super-loyal never-straying justices on the Supreme Court. Hot Air runs through the possible outcomes: basically, this is a temporary stay for a specific case, but the odds are good that the Supreme Court is going to look favorably on injunctions on implementing the contraception mandate until the court answers the question once and for all this year. It’s reasonable, too: fining groups for refusing to comply with a law that turns out to be unconstitutional can be… awkward. Continue reading Justice Sotomayor puts temporary stay on contraception mandate case.