Supreme Court Ruling a Short-Term Win for Religious Nonprofits

The U.S. Supreme Court punted on a challenge by religious nonprofit groups to the Obamacare contraception mandate, sending the case back to lower courts to allow the parties to work out a compromise among themselves.

The nonprofit groups challenged an "opt-out" provision of the law, which allowed such nonprofits to avoid providing no-cost contraception to employees only if the groups signed a form indicating a religious objection. The groups argued that requirement made them complicit in providing contraception against their religious beliefs.

The court's ruling is the latest twist in an unusual case, which was argued before the court shortly after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, which left open the possibility of a 4-4 split.