Posted on 01/01/2014 4:36:37 AM PST by NYer
This just in from the Associated Press,
WASHINGTON (AP) Only hours before the law was to take effect, a Supreme Court justice on Tuesday blocked implementation of part of President Barack Obama’s health care law that would have forced some religion-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance for employees that includes birth control.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s decision came after a different effort by Catholic-affiliated groups from around the nation. Those groups had rushed to the federal courts to stop Wednesday’s start of portions of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Sotomayor acted on a request from an organization of Catholic nuns in Denver, the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged. Its request for an emergency stay had been denied earlier in the day by a federal appeals court.
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.
***
Sotomayor’s decision to delay the contraceptive portion of the law was joined by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which also issued an emergency stay for Catholic-affiliated groups challenging the contraceptive provision.
The fight isn’t over, but this news is a great way to ring in the New Year, eh? How about some fireworks?!
MORE,
From USA Today,
The White House did not comment on the order Tuesday night. Sotomayor issued the order a few hours before leading the final 60-second countdown and pushing the ceremonial button to drop the New Year’s Eve ball in New York’s Times Square.
A spokeswoman for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the lead counsel for the Little Sisters of the Poor, said the group was delighted by Sotomayor’s order. “The government has lots of ways to deliver contraceptives to people,” Emily Hardman said in a statement. “It doesn’t need to force nuns to participate.”
National Review: Preliminary Win in D.C.for Religious Freedom.
Earlier today, Archbishop Kurtz asked for exemption from HHS Mandate fines. See more at the USSCB.
How about free plumbers, haircuts, oil changes, grass mowing, etc.
She is Zero’s bitch. Therefore, the two are up to something and this isn’t what it looks like. I suspect Zero NEEDS this all to be delayed as it is falling apart at the seams right now.
Things happen...just sayin'.
More like the "Man Above" effect.
In other news....a blind squirrel found an acorn!
i am stunned and speechless
maybe 2014 is going to be beyond fantastic
wow
i am totally jazzed
when was the last time some marxist judge gave a ruling that normal people appreciate.
hnw
She made this decision on the feast of the solemnity of Mary . a holy day of obligation if you are catholic. I wonder if she went to church yesterday .
Interesting take.
Hmmm?
Everything is interesting about this. Thanks be to God.
A wise and brave decision. For whatever reason a little light of freedom still flickers in this evil darkness which has befallen our nation. Prepare to light your lamps.
It's important to note that Hispanics are very pro-life so perhaps her intervention here should not be a surprise?
Good grief....let's get back to reality.
Those of you who understand the Limabaugh Theorum (which is being proven 100% correct ever since he promulgated it) will know exactly why why Justice Sotojarrett ruled the way she did.
Let's not get carried away, puh-leeez!
Leni
Good news!
I am beginning to wonder if she was a bit of a surprise to Obama.
Maybe this will finally wake America up.
How can Justice Sotomayor’s ruling be seen as anything but a powerful indictment of Obama and the Democratic party for creating a law that would destroy religious freedom in America — not just for nuns but for every religious American who would be forced to act against his or her conscience?
Coming from a liberal, it destroys the fraudulent moral foundation to ObamaCare that Obama and the Democrats have worked so hard to instill in Americans’ minds.
Leni
I tip my hat to you, Wise Latina ( Latina Sabia). Let's hope some of your wisdom rubs off on the rest of the court.
And folks, help me out here: didn't she surprise us with another opinion or decision a while back? What was that??
This is very good news on this New Year’s Day.
“this isnt what it looks like”
I’m with you. Use it as an excuse to delay, and then use it as tacit supreme court approval when it is implemented anyway.
Exactly. Establish authority now by doing something people like and then use that authority it later to do something they otherwise would protest. Typical tyrannical approach.
You’re exactly right. I hope people are not fooled.
This is a “temporary” block in order to give the government time to respond.
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