Notre Dame Struck a Secret Deal With Trump Administration to Deny Contraceptive Coverage

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Yeah that figures

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Instead, Notre Dame has balked at the birth control mandate, waging a protracted legal battle in an effort to exempt itself from having to provide insurance for services that it says violate its religious beliefs. The university’s efforts so far have been unsuccessful in court.

But according to a recent lawsuit, the Trump administration did an end run around the judicial system to negotiate a settlement with Notre Dame and 73 other institutions that allows them to deny birth control coverage. The suit, filed on behalf of the student-led activist group Irish 4 Reproductive Health, of which Rivaldi is a member, argues that the settlement is illegal and demonstrates flagrant disregard for due process and equal protection. The Trump administration is expected to file its answer to the lawsuit on October 11.

The settlement adopted language from the Trump rules — claiming that the contraceptive mandate impinged on the organizations’ religious freedoms and promising that they would never have to comply with it, at present or in the future. “We were really surprised,” Banker said. “And we were frustrated.”

Not only did the settlement violate current court orders blocking Trump’s rules, but it also thumbed its nose at the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2016 order that a solution be found that included full contraceptive coverage. “And that’s not what has happened,” Banker said. “The Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit was designed to ensure that women could use the birth control method that works best for them, and that is a personal decision, and no university boss should be able to make that decision for anyone.”

And the school is probably hoping Rapey Brett will make it all nice and legal too.