Birth Control Ruling On Hold While Nuns Await Supreme Court

DENVER (AP) — A group of Colorado nuns won't have to comply with a federal ruling about birth control until they hear whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear their case.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver issued an order Friday staying its July decision for Little Sisters of the Poor and four Oklahoma Christian colleges.

The nuns are challenging the religious exemption in the health-care law. They say that the exemption is inadequate because a third party will still end up providing birth control coverage in opposition to their religious beliefs.

Five other federal appeals courts — in Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Washington, DC — also have ruled against religious nonprofits challenging the exemption.

The Supreme Court won't decide whether to hear the cases before the fall.