The HHS mandate when into effect this month. It requires that all employer-sponsored insurance plans must provide free contraceptives, abortifacients, and sterilization. Numerous religious organizations and businesses with religious perspectives have been forced to do something that violates their religious convictions.

This issue that many Christians have been following was pushed back into the news when Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor granted a stay to the Little Sisters of the Poor. This is an order of the Catholic Church that operates a nursing home. Although it provided a reprieve for the nuns, the Justice Department called for a removal of the injunction.

This action by the justice only helps them and a few other associated groups. Most of the religious groups are still under the governmental mandate. In March, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on behalf of two groups. The owners of Hobby Lobby and Mardel brought one of the suits. The arts-and-craft chain and bookstore run their business on biblical principles. The other suit involves Conestoga Wood Specialties, which is a cabinet-making company owned by a Mennonite family.

James Capretta, at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, argues that this confrontation between government and religious groups was manufactured by the administration. Providing “free” contraception and sterilization procedures was not a burning national crisis that demanded immediate attention. Contraceptives have long been readily available and are relatively inexpensive.

When the issue surfaced during the 2012 election, the administration and its political allies saw an opportunity to make it a divisive social issue. Anyone who opposed the mandate was charged with engaging in a “war on women.” The conflict today owes its origins to the 2012 election geared to attract women voters.

It is possible that the Supreme Court will remedy the situation, but that solution is still months off. Meanwhile, religious non-profit organizations and businesses find themselves under the oppression of the HHS mandate.