Supreme Court to consider birth control mandate in March

The U.S. Supreme Court revealed Wednesday it will take up consideration of ObamaCare’s contraception mandate on March 25.

One of the most contentious provisions of the President Obama’s signature law, the so-called “birth control mandate” requires that workers be offered free contraceptive services as part of their employers’ insurance coverage.

{mosads}The regulation has spawned scores of lawsuits, including a challenge brought by Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned craft chain that objects to the provision on religious grounds.

The Supreme Court agreed late last year to hear the Hobby Lobby case. It is expected to be the first case to reach the High Court since the justices deemed the law’s individual mandate constitutional 17 months ago.

The scheduling of oral arguments in the case comes days after Justice Sonia Sotomayor handed down a stay blocking the mandate from taking effect for roughly 200 religious non-profit organizations.

The implications of the Hobby Lobby case are far broader, as the court will weigh arguments that the mandate trampels on religious expression for for-profit corporations.