U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett said in his ruling that two similar cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court may impact or resolve the schools' case, but rulings in those cases are unlikely before June 1.

Bennett said if the schools were forced to comply with the mandate and he later ruled in their favor, they still would have been forced to spend a period of time providing benefits they find religiously objectionable.

"Plaintiffs may suffer irreparable harm without an injunction in that they would be forced to comply with the mandate to the detriment of their religious exercise," Bennett wrote. The injunction will remain in place until the case is decided, he said.

The only harm an injunction would pose to the government, Bennett said, would be that the mandate would go into effect for the colleges a few months later than expected.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said Bennett's ruling does not decide the merits of the case, one which threatens to let employers impose their religious beliefs upon their employees.

Though not a party to the case, the ACLU had filed a friend of the court brief in support of the government's position, saying that restricting access to contraception discriminates against female workers.