TO THE EDITOR:
Notre Dame just decided to deny its female employees, faculty and students legally mandated insurance coverage for contraceptives. Notre Dame decided not to sign a simple waiver form that would have removed their financial support of this coverage and would have allowed the federal government to cover this cost.
Instead, the women of Notre Dame have been singled out to bear this cost. This is clearly discrimination.
Notre Dame apparently has the legal right to deny health issurance benefits to women. At the same time other institutions also have the right not to validate this discriminatory behavior.
Notre Dame gains validation and considerable prestige by its recent addition to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), a group of universities commited to non-discrimination.
I believe Notre Dame should immediately leave the ACC. This way the ACC could move forward untarnished by the deliberate discrimination by one of its members.
Note: Since this letter was submitted, Notre Dame has reversed its decision.
James Conway
Ph.D., Toxicology
