Millions Exempt from Contraception Mandate--Unless You're a Nun?

One in three Americans do not have health insurance plans covered by the HHS mandate requiring contraception--more than 100 million Americans.

Exxon, Pepsi, Chevron, Visa and the U.S. military are some of the major groups included in the exemption.

But one group not on the exemption list is The Little Sisters of Poor. The Catholic nuns, represented by The Becket Fund, have now formerly asked the Supreme Court to protect them from being forced to provide contraceptions that violate their faith.

The government has argued that those exempted (Exxon, Pepsi, etc.) could access contraception through other means.

The Becket Fund shared that the nuns are simply asking for the same option.

"But it (the government) then bizarrely argues that exempting the Little Sisters and letting the nuns' employees get contraceptives the same way would pose a serious threat to the government's goal of providing universal free access to contraception and early-term pharmaceutical abortion, thus harming the 'harmonious functioning of a society like ours,'" they wrote.

The Little Sisters of the Poor posted this comic to explain their stance.

The Becket Fund reports that The Little Sisters of the Poor have received support in their case from a diverse coalition of religious leaders, including Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Native American, Catholic, Protestant, and other faiths as well as over 200 Democratic and Republican Members of Congress.

Their case will be heard on March 23.