The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a request by the Hobby Lobby chain of arts and crafts stores to temporarily block a provision in the Affordable Care Act making employers responsible for covering the insurance costs of their employees’ birth control, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

Hobby Lobby and another company, the Christian bookstore chain Mardel, had petitioned the court for an injunction preventing the birth-control mandate from going into effect on Jan. 1 while they appeal a similar decision handed down by a federal court on Dec. 21.

According to The Hill, Justice Sonia Sotomayor acknowledged the companies’ right to challenge the law, commonly known as “Obamacare,” in a brief opinion rejecting the companies’ request.