The University of Notre Dame on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its requirement that employer-provided insurance plans include birth control coverage.
The issue was the subject of a heated firestorm earlier this year. The administration tweaked its rule to accommodate religious nonprofits like Catholic universities and hospitals. Churches are exempt. Republicans continued to demand that Obama reverse the rule entirely but backed down after receiving immense blowback.
“Let me say very clearly what this lawsuit is not about: it is not about preventing women from having access to contraception, nor even about preventing the Government from providing such services,” John Jenkins, the university’s president, said in a statement. “We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others; we simply ask that the Government not impose its values on the University when those values conflict with our religious teachings.”
President Obama delivered the 2009 commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame. Others institutions such as Ave Maria University, as well as several Republican-led states, have also sued to block the mandate.
Read the UND lawsuit below.
University Of Notre Dame Federal Complaint Against Dept Of Health And Human Services
Sahil Kapur
Sahil Kapur is a congressional reporter for TPM. He previously covered politics and public policy for numerous publications including The Guardian and The Huffington Post. He can be reached at sahil [at] talkingpointsmemo.com.
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