The university had filed lawsuits seeking relief from the contraceptive mandate in 2012 and then again 2013.
The tables have now turned, with the American Civil Liberties Union filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration last month that challenges the new rules. One of its clients, Kate Rochat, is a law student at Notre Dame.
“While not surprising, Notre Dame’s move to block access to affordable contraceptive coverageis deeply disappointing,” said ACLU Staff Attorney Brigitte Amiri. “We have already taken legal action against the Trump Administration because our client Kate Rochat and the thousands of other women affected by this decision should not have their access to basic health care services denied simply because of where they work or go to school.”
Some Notre Dame students are also protesting the university’s decision. The Graduate Workers Collective of Notre Dame, an independent group of graduate students, held a rally last month and just started circulating an online petition demanding the administration re-examine the move.
“The health of people at Notre Dame who can become pregnant, especially those who are low-income, will be jeopardized by obstructed access to reproductive care,” the petition reads. “Meanwhile, University representatives are citing religious liberty as the rationale for a policy which is in fact discriminatory. The University’s position is philosophically incoherent and morally untenable.”
Kate Bermingham, who is pursuing her PhD in political science at Notre Dame, said she depends on the free coverage for birth control pills and contraceptive counseling. The graduate student stipend is only $23,000 a year, she noted.
“We shouldn’t be materially disadvantaged because we have women’s bodies,” said Bermingham, 28, who chose Notre Dame because of its strong political theory program.
Article Appeared @http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/02/news/economy/notre-dame-birth-control/index.html
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