Birth control rule seems to divide Supreme Court

Margot Riphagen of New Orleans, La., wears a birth control pills costume Tuesday as she protests in front of the Supreme Court in Washington as the court heard oral arguments in the challenges of President Barack Obama's health care law requirement that businesses provide their female employees with health insurance that includes access to contraceptives. - photo by Associated Press

W Health Care Birth Con Werm — Margot Riphagen of New Orleans, La., wears a birth control pills costume Tuesday as she protests in front of the Supreme Court in Washington as the court heard oral arguments in the challenges of President Barack Obama's health care law requirement that businesses provide their female employees with health insurance that includes access to contraceptives. - photo by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Seemingly divided, the Supreme Court struggled Tuesday with the question of whether companies have religious rights, a case challenging President Barack Obama's health overhaul and its guarantee of birth control in employees' preventive care plans. Peppering attorneys with questions in a 90-minute argument, the justices weighed the rights of for-profit companies against the rights of female employees. The discussion ranged to abortion, too, and even whether a female worker could be forced to wear an all-covering burka.

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