Speaking Up for Birth Control
At Inside Higher Ed, Libby A. Nelson reports on the three philosophy graduate students at the University of Notre Dame who have formed a petition opposing Notre Dame’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Notre Dame is suing HHS over the Affordable Care Act’s mandate requiring that employers “cover birth control at no charge as part of their health insurance plans,” writes Nelson. The petitioners state, “By requiring its employees to purchase additional insurance or to pay out of pocket … Notre Dame is effectively utilizing indirect coercion and imposing its religious beliefs and practices on its employees.”