when supreme court justice sotomayor granted them a temporary break from the contraception mandate in obamacare. >> in this home, nobody dies alone. >> reporter: obeying that mandate and providing birth control coverage to their employees, the nuns argued, would violate their religious beliefs. breaking the rule, they added, would mean paying millions of dollars in fines they don't have. >> we don't get a salary, we don't have enough income so we go begging. >> reporter: in its response to sotomayor, the obama administration noted religious nonprofits have options. they can sign a document stating their religious objections and have a third party insuror provide the benefits without the nuns' involvement. the applicants have no legal basis, the government argued, to complain that it involves them in the process of providing contraceptive coverage. daniel blomberg, one of the attorneys for the little sisters of the poor, says the government is bullying the nuns. >> all the little sisters are saying is that's not a solution