Justices Ask for More Info on Little Sisters vs. Obamacare

In an unusual move, the U.S. Supreme Court is requesting additional information in the case that has pitted The Little Sisters of the Poor against Obamacare.

The court heard arguments last Wednesday. The nuns object to Obamacare's birth control coverage mandate.

On Tuesday, the justices told both sides to come up with alternative ways to prevent mandating religious women to provide services against their faith.

The Supreme Court wants both the government and The Little Sisters of the Poor to submit additional briefs by next month.

"This is an excellent development," said Mark Rienzi, lead attorney for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the group representing the sisters.

"Clearly the Supreme Court understood the Sisters' concern that the government's current scheme forces them to violate their religion," he continued. "We look forward to offering alternatives that protect the Little Sisters' religious liberty while allowing the government to meet its stated goals."

"The government is forcing our clients to offer access to abortion-inducing drugs through their insurance plans. That is no accommodation," Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel David Cortman said. ADF represents Geneva College and Southern Nazarene University, two other plaintiffs in the case.

"The government has many other ways to make sure women may access these drugs, but it has chosen the unjust, unlawful, and unnecessary path of forcing people of faith to participate in acts that violate their deepest convictions," Cortman continued.

"There is an easy solution: The government can offer these services to women who want them without forcing Christian schools, nuns, and priests to abandon their belief that life is sacred," he explained. "We will confer with our clients to determine a response to the Supreme Court's request."

In last week's hearing, the justices appeared to be deeply divided over the Obama administration's plan to exempt The Little Sisters of the Poor and other faith-based groups from being required to pay for birth control for women insured under their health plans.

The conservative justices on the high court sounded in favor of the complaint by the groups that the administration's exemption plan goes against their religious rights.

"We are hopeful for a positive outcome," said Sister Loraine Marie Clare, Mother Provincial for the Little Sisters of the Poor. "We will continue to trust God because -- as our Mother Foundress St. Jeanne Jugan said: 'God will help us, the work is His.'"

The court is expected to rule by the end of June.