After challenging the Affordable Care Act’s free contraception mandate in court for a number of years alongside other religious institutions, Notre Dame recently decided that the mandate does not in fact violate its religious liberty.
In a surprising and sudden reversal of past statements, the University emailed employees in early November saying its insurance plan would cover contraception — the very ACA mandate that Notre Dame challenged in the Supreme Court.
A week prior to this email, Notre Dame informed employees that contraception coverage would end Jan. 1, presumably due to the fact that President Trump had rolled back the ACA mandate in early October.
Notre Dame’s President, Rev. John Jenkins, said in an Oct. 6 statement that he welcomed the changes announced by the Trump administration because “critical issues of religious freedom were at stake.”
Though Trump effectively ended the contraception mandate for religious employers, Notre Dame has now chosen not to avail itself of the religious exemption which it had previously fought for in years of litigation.
University spokesperson Dennis Brown cited the “plurality of religious and other convictions among employees” when explaining the decision.
The University previously argued in litigation against the ACA’s mandate that “it is a core tenet of Notre Dame’s religion that abortion, contraception, and sterilization are serious moral wrongs. Notre Dame’s religious beliefs are deeply and sincerely held. The mandate requires Notre Dame to do precisely what its sincerely held religious beliefs prohibit.”
It is unclear why the University changed its tune following an intensely ideological and expensive litigation. Regardless, its compromise on its Catholic beliefs is evident and controversial.
Kate Hardiman is pursuing a Masters in Education from Notre Dame and teaches English and Religion at a high school in Chicago.
