into instruments of religious oppression, ready to intervene when the executive branch is no longer willing to oppress religious dissenters itself." Political considerations Writing for Religion News Service, Reese questioned whether both sides had goodwill throughout the process: "each side was suspicious of the other and any kind of deal became impossible." He held that the HHS lawyers while expert in health care law, were oblivious to case law around religious freedom. This had caused the original regulations to be open to withering criticism from religious nonprofits and Republicans, who vehemently opposed the ACA as a whole. Reese pointed out that shortly before the controversy began the HHS had denied the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops a government grant to assist people being trafficked on account of their refusal to refer clients for birth control or abortion services. Resulting in critics of the administration decrying events as "a planned assault on religion...[and] an organized conspiracy against religious believers." Reese noted that the Little Sisters were "advised by extremely conservative moralist and lawyers. In addition, some bishops and Republican Catholics saw a fight over religious freedom with the Obama administration as politically advantageous." He pointed out that Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York met with President Obama in hopes of resolving the issue, and afterward had said he was hopeful matters could be resolved but "was forced [to] back off by other bishops." Reese reported that there were also those around Obama who held that the conflict with the bishops would rally their own base as well, including supporters of Planned Parenthood (which opposed all exemptions). Supreme Court Both the government and Little Sisters petitioned the Supreme Court on the Third Circuit decision. The Supreme Court certified the cases in January 2020, consolidating both the Little Sisters and government petition. Oral arguments were heard on May 6, 2020, part of the set of cases heard via teleconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Court arguments were made trying to balance religious freedom versus women's health. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had just undergone an emergency surgical procedure, called in from her hospital room while recovering to remind the court that "In this area of religious freedom the major trend is not to give everything to one side and nothing to the other side. We have had a history of accommodation, of tolerance." The Supreme Court issued its ruling on