Surprise? Notre Dame Grad Students Petition in Favor of HHS Mandate

A group of philosophy graduate students at the University of Notre Dame recently created a petition opposing the university’s lawsuit against the HHS mandate. They even go so far as to say that by accepting the mandate – i.e., giving up Notre Dame’s right to act according to its Catholic mission – the university could better fulfill its Catholic mission.

We the undersigned members of the Notre Dame community wish to express our disagreement with the university’s decision to file a lawsuit contesting the Health and Human Services mandate that requires employee health insurance plans to provide no cost birth control coverage to employees. We understand that the university administration believes this lawsuit will advance its Catholic mission and promote freedom of conscience. We too are fully committed to freedom of conscience. However, we believe the philosophical and legal arguments strongly favor compliance with the law. Further we believe Notre Dame would better serve its Catholic mission by focusing on improving campus services for families rather than embroiling itself in a legal challenge.
Although we recognize concerns regarding religious freedom ought to be taken seriously, it remains unclear whether providing access to artificial contraceptives actually would conflict with Catholic belief.

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