Firestorms erupted across social media after the University announced it would discontinue birth control coverage for students and employees. Students, alumni and pundits alike have shared their criticisms, showering the administration with a vast array of accusations ranging from elitism to misogyny. Insurers’ recent announcements that they will continue to provide birth control coverage regardless of University policy will undoubtedly temper some of the widespread public outrage. But as long as criticism of the University's decision continues to make the rounds on social media, I feel compelled to defend the administration’s choice and explain why these criticisms remain unfounded. Those who point fingers at the administration have ignored the key issue at the heart of the matter: religious freedom. Religious beliefs, not a fascination with discipline or a hatred of women inherent to Catholicism, have driven the administration’s choice. As a Catholic university, Notre Dame is well within its right to discontinue birth control coverage. Expecting a Catholic university to subsidize birth control requires the same level of naivety as walking into Brigham Young and demanding free Irish coffee would. Demanding that an institution defy its religious beliefs to support your sex life — something for which you, and nobody else, should be held responsible speaks to a sense of entitlement. Religious freedom aside, I would like to take a moment to debate some of the individual accusations being leveled at the University. For starters, many opponents of the new policy allege the University wants to discriminate against women. This accusation not only trivializes the much deeper issue of religious freedom, but also ignores the fact that this supposedly women-hating university does not provide male birth control either. Notre Dame might not be handing out pills, but it certainly isn’t handing out condoms. Those who cry sexism also ignore the fact that if the University really hated women, it wouldn’t have made a medical exception to the new birth control mandate. Notre Dame will still subsidize birth control for those who require it for health reasons. In terms of health-care policy, this makes sense: Birth control used solely for contraception has less to do with health than it has to do with sexual freedom. Hence, the inclusion of non-medical birth control on a list of insurance-covered medications remains debatable, even without considering religious complications. Notre Dame doesn’t hate women or even the principle of birth control, which it might not hand out but certainly permits. Notre Dame simply refuses to play the role of birth control middleman, as any Catholic university reasonably would. I won’t defend every decision made by the University, but in this case, I must defend the administration’s policy. Let’s stop criticizing a Catholic university for upholding its belief system and start appreciating everything this university does provide. With Notre Dame,
Alison O’Neil
sophomore
Nov. 7
