Not unexpected, but not before time, either.

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to review the lawsuit filed by Hobby Lobby against the federal government over the Obamacare mandate that employers provide contraceptive coverage in their health plans.

Hobby Lobby, which is owned by an Oklahoma City family with strong Christian beliefs, says a 1993 law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, protects the company from the mandate. The company is particularly opposed to paying for coverage that includes the morning after pill.

By ‘particularly opposed’ the paper means ‘will go out of business rather than pay for what it considers to be an abortifacient.’ Hobby Lobby is a privately owned company, run by committed pro-life Christians: the owners consider being required to cover the morning-after pill to be an intolerant affront to their religious beliefs – and, for that matter, their First Amendment rights thereof. The administration’s response is pretty much War on Women, because yelling about War on Women is easier than, I don’t know, paying female staffers the same amount that you pay your male ones. I know that the above sounds cynical, and it is: but then, I’m reporting on the Obama administration, which is more cynical before breakfast than I can be all day.

More from Ace of Spades HQ, including what I can only call an outbreak of the audacity of hope. I for one don’t really expect it to play out the way that Ace dreams that it would, but I am cautiously optimistic that the Supreme Court will carve out a more robust conscience exemption than the one that the Obama administration deigned to offer.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: I know that there are Democrats out there who seem to think that this is a winning issue for them. I also know that they thought the same thing about Obamacare.

PPS: For the record: Hobby Lobby’s issue is specifically with emergency contraception and other procedures that they consider to be abortifacients, not preventative birth control. Be sure to mention that on Thursday to any random people trying to tell you that the company wants to not pay for the Pill; because they were perfectly happy to pay for oral contraceptives now.