Supreme Court hears arguments in ObamaCare contraception case

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Supreme Court holds first live arguments by phone

Coronavirus pandemic forces Supreme Court to livestream arguments; David Spunt reports.

The Supreme Court’s third day of oral arguments via teleconference is featuring a dispute over an exemption to the Affordable Care Act’s requirement for employers to provide birth control to women at no cost.

While religious institutions had been exempted from this during the Obama administration, some organizations claimed that the opt-out process was still too burdensome on their religious freedom. The Trump administration later changed the rule so that organizations could opt out without providing an alternate avenue for coverage if they had a religious or moral objection.

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A judge blocked the rule change from taking effect after New Jersey and Pennsylvania challenged it, and that decision was upheld by a circuit court ruling. The Trump administration and Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns, are appealing, although in June a Texas federal judge’s ruling allowed for most employers to get out of providing coverage for contraception if they objected to doing so.

The court's second case of the day involves whether or not a 1991 law that protects people from receiving unwarranted telemarketer calls is a violation of the First Amendment when applied to political organizations.

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Audio streams of the arguments, which the justices and attorneys are conducting remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, are being aired live online for the first time this week.

The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is currently in the hospital with a gall bladder condition, but that she is still planning on participating in oral arguments.

Fox News' Shannon Bream and The Associated Press contributed to this report.