The University of Notre Dame has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over a mandate that requires employers to provide insurance plans that include birth control coverage.
The prominent Catholic university in Indiana said in a statement that the lawsuit is not about preventing the government from providing contraception, but about protecting the institution's religious freedom.
"We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others," wrote the school's president Father John Jenkins. "We simply ask that the government not impose its values on the university when those values conflict with our religious teachings."
The August 2011 federal mandate was adjusted to exempt religious institutions that employ primarily people of their own faith. But institutions like Notre Dame that employ and serve people of varying religions were not included.
According to the lawsuit, over 28,000 employees, students and dependents are covered by Notre Dame's employer health plan and the student health plan it provides through Aetna. Both plans do not offer coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, contraception or related education and counseling.
In filing this lawsuit, Notre Dame joins other religious institutions and several states who have also sued to block the mandate.
Barack Obama gave the commencement address at Notre Dame in 2009.
