Notre Dame retreats, will provide contraceptive coverage in student health programs
September 05, 2014
The University of Notre Dame will provide for contraceptives and abortifacient drugs in its student health-care program, the National Catholic Register reports.
Notre Dame had joined other Catholic institutions in filing suit against the contraceptive mandate in the federal health-care program. In that lawsuit, Notre Dame said that the mandate would "require Notre Dame to commit scandal." But after preliminary court rulings against the university-- which Notre Dame is now appealing-- the university administration has chosen to cover contraceptive costs.
"Notre Dame has declared in court that to do what it is doing now would be scandalous. And it is doing this voluntarily," said William Dempsey, the head of the Sycamore Trust, an alumni group dedicated to defending the school's Catholic identity.
The school's decision to provide contraceptive coverage, after saying that such coverage would be scandalous, could undermine the strength of Notre Dame's lawsuit.
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Further information:
- Notre Dame’s Student Health Plan Will Cover Contraceptives, Abortifacients (National Catholic Register)
- Federal court rules against Notre Dame in HHS mandate case (CWN, 2/24)
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Posted by: jacquebquique5708 -
Sep. 08, 2014 2:06 PM ET USA
"Hobby Lobby" had always accepted and paid for contraceptive coverage. They balked at the 4 mandates for abortiofactants. Couldn't Notre Dame have done the same? This is an absolute scandal for faithful Catholics.
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Posted by: -
Sep. 07, 2014 8:58 AM ET USA
Defender, appreciated your morning chuckle. Mixed well with my coffee.
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Posted by: bernie4871 -
Sep. 06, 2014 10:54 AM ET USA
Notre Dame accepts the mandate and now Obama and gang back away fro pursuing the mandate with Hobby Lobby. Wow, Notre Dame really is a scandal.
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Posted by: unum -
Sep. 06, 2014 9:05 AM ET USA
Our "Cathoilc" universities are just one more example of the bishops "leading from behind"!
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Posted by: Defender -
Sep. 06, 2014 3:21 AM ET USA
It's a good thing that Notre Dame (Georgetown, BC, LMU, and a host of others) isn't Catholic anymore or else the bishop might have to do something about this.
