The University of Notre Dame has never been on top of its game when it comes to women. It took until 1972 for the first women to become students here, so they’ve only had to deal with women’s issues for forty-five years. It is not shocking that the University recently stated it will not longer provide contraception to students and employees through a supplemental insurance policy, now that it can be legally exempted from the requirement.
When the contraceptive mandate was issued, the University filed a lawsuit in 2013 against the government (namely Kathleen Sebilius) to try and avoid following the policy. Notre Dame had already signed a form that exempted them from directly providing coverage for contraceptives to its students, faculty, and staff. The court held that ND did not have its religious rights infringed upon by signing the form, which exempted them from the policy, that then led to their insurance company making available a supplemental policy including contraception to those with insurance through the University. By this ruling, and the signing of the exemption form by the university, students and staff were able to get contraception through a supplemental insurance policy.
The University recently revisited this fact in a statement sent In late October, which stated
“To comply with federal law, Aetna Student Health has provided, separate from University coverage, for additional woman’s health products or procedures that the University objects to based on its religious beliefs.”
This was separate coverage available to students, with a comparable plan for faculty and staff, to ensure the University did not put its name on something it was morally opposed to. This is in line with a statement issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the go-to group for US Catholic thought and official position, as well as being in line with the official Roman Catholic position on birth control, which is to not use it for the purpose of contraception.
The current administration recently rescinded the contraception mandate ordered under the ACA, making space for universities like ours to no longer offer supplemental policies that they morally disagree with. This leaves students, particularly international and graduate students, who make up the main portion of students acquiring University insurance.
The University made clear that this would only affect those who would acquire contraception for contraceptive purposes. Students seeking birth control pills for extreme cramps would still be permitted to obtain birth control under University policy. However, most women at this University have a story of a friend who was read the riot act by a nurse when they tried to fill their birth control prescription. Students need to try and prove that their birth control was for a reason the university deems morally acceptable. The letter of the law here says we are permitted it, but the practice puts the burden on students to prove they really need their medications.
It is safe to say that no students are shocked or surprised by this. Our University is very conservative and slow to change. Four years ago we put our name out there as a school fighting the contraception mandate, and the administration has been waiting on an exception that allows them to not even have adjacent coverage ever since.
All of this aligns with a broader trend here at Our Lady’s University. We aren’t meeting our students where they are. It is technically against the code of conduct to be sexually active outside of marriage, but students still are. Yet, we will now no longer permit students to access contraception for contraceptive purposes under our insurance plans, despite the fact that students want and need it for that purpose. We are a Catholic school, with values and rules informed by the Church, but we are denying these students, Catholic and non-Catholic, affordable birth control.
Update: As of this week, the University announced that Aetna intends to continue to provide these supplemental plans for students, and the faculty and staff plans will continue as they did before this exemption. The University acknowledged that they filed a lawsuit to prevent this very occurrence, but stated that they “will not interfere” with insurance companies providing this coverage. Notre Dame implied it will not attempt any legal action or otherwise to prevent students, faculty, and staff from obtaining contraceptive coverage.
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