The U.S. Supreme Court said that it will hear the Christian company's Hobby Lobby's challenge "to a requirement in President Obama's healthcare law that employers cover workers' contraception," reported BBC News. The owners of the company said the requirement has violated their strict religious beliefs.
Hobby Lobby, an arts and craft chain with 13,000 full-time employees, had already won in lower court rulings.
The owners - David Green, Barbara Green and several relatives - describe themselves as "committed evangelical Christians," saying that their religious beliefs "forbid them from participating in, providing access to, paying for... or otherwise supporting abortion-causing drugs and devices," as reported by BBC News
Hobby Lobby said that the requirement that it provide coverage for two birth control drugs known as Plan B and Ella ""runs roughshod over the Green family's religious beliefs" because they "could cause an abortion," which is abhorrent to them, news reports said.
The Obama administration challenged the company's refusal to comply with the law's contraception requirement:
"The administration has already acted to ensure no church or similar religious institution will be forced to provide contraception coverage and has made a commonsense accommodation for non-profit religious organizations that object to contraception on religious grounds," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carnet .
"These steps protect both women's health and religious beliefs, and seek to ensure that women and families - not their bosses or corporate CEOs - can make personal health decisions based on their needs and their budgets," he added in the statement.
This announcement comes as the Affordable Care Act, deemed as Obama's signature law, has undergone legal and political challenges. The rollout of its web site has also been severely criticized by both political parties.
