Father Sean O. Sheridan, TOR, JD, JCD, President of Franciscan University of Steubenville, welcomes the new rule restoring religious liberty within the Affordable Care Act's "contraception mandate."

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Franciscan University of Steubenville recognizes today's action by the Health and Human Services Department that expands the religious liberty exemption from the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act. The contraception mandate would have forced Franciscan University to violate our religious beliefs by facilitating the provision of morally objectionable health coverage to employees, including potentially abortion-inducing drugs and devices, contraceptives, and sterilizations, or face ruinous fines in the millions of dollars.  

"As we understand it, the new rule does not resolve the HHS litigation for which religious organizations have been advocating for five years. We are conferring with our legal counsel to determine the full ramifications and effect of the new rule, but even though the government must still sign an agreement resolving the litigation, we see the rule as a hopeful step toward restoring the constitutionally protected religious and moral freedoms of Catholics and all Americans.

"The Government has recognized that Franciscan University has the freedom to provide a health plan that does not violate its core religious beliefs as a Catholic institution.

"When confronted with issues that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church such as contraception and abortion, Franciscan University will always stand with the Church and foster the dignity of each human person from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. As a Catholic university, Franciscan University not only has a responsibility to teach what the Church teaches, we must live out that teaching to the best of our ability. We are grateful that our constitutional right to free exercise of religion has been restored."

BACKGROUND:
In May 2012, Franciscan University joined with 42 other Catholic organizations from around the country in filing lawsuits that challenged the HHS contraception mandate. The University's suit was dismissed in March 2013 in the Southern District Court of Ohio for lack of "ripeness, " claiming that the University had yet to be directly injured by the HHS mandate since it operated under a "grandfathered" health plan. The University was never required to comply with the HHS mandate and never provided nor facilitated the morally objectionable health coverage.

Contact:

Tom Sofio
Marketing and Communications
Franciscan University of Steubenville
740-284-5893
[email protected]

SOURCE Franciscan University of Steubenville

Related Links

https://franciscan.edu/