Nuns vs. Obama: Obama Administration refuses to exempt Little Sisters of the Poor from regulation forcing them to distribute birth control

The national debate over the Affordable Care Act is heating up. A Romantic Catholic group of nuns, who manage a nursing home around the world called the Little Sisters of the Poor, continue their fight against the law's debatable contraceptive mandate.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - A press release from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty explained that the Obama administration disagreed to exempt the nuns from a "regulation that makes them choose between their faith - which prohibits them from providing contraceptives - and continuing to pursue their religious mission of serving the elderly poor."

At the core of this debate is a government "accommodation" offered through the Department of Health and Human Services in 2014, which is a provision that allows closely held corporations, as well as religious groups, to sign EBSA Form 700. The Form is a document that sends responsibility to the government, which then finds a third-party to provide contraceptives. However, the nuns still refuse the accommodation based on specific religious principles.

Daniel Blomberg, an advocate with the Becket Fund asserted that the Little Sisters of the Poor, will need to rely on the Supreme Court to provide a solution to the ongoing dispute and possibly acquire stable reprieve.

According to Blomberg, the Obama administration simply perceives the Little Sisters as not religious enough to be given the same pass on the mandate that churches have been allowed.

He explained that there is a "religious discrimination" when the administration acts as if a religious group is not faithful enough, so the Little Sisters are uniting with other Christian groups to request the Supreme Court to finally settle the matter.

The Little Sisters could face penalties amounting up to to $2.5 million annually if they refuse to conform and are not granted a permanent relief from the rules.

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