Eighteen Catholic colleges have signed a letter to the U.S. Department of health asking for an exemption from new regulations, part of the Affordable Care Act, which require the schools to offer birth-control in student health plans.
As Andrew Rota reported last week the existing exemption is very narrow, with organizations qualifying only if:
1. The inculcation of religious values is the purpose of the organization.
2. The organization primarily employs persons who share the religious tenets of the organization.
3. The organization serves primarily persons who share the religious tenets of the organization.
Hospitals and universities, then, would fail to qualify for the exception if unless they were to hire and serve only Catholics.
The colleges are as follows: Aquinas College (Tenn.), Ave Maria University (Fla.), Benedictine College (Kans.), Catholic Distance University, Christendom College (Va.), College of Saint Mary Magdalen (N.H.), College of Saint Thomas More (Tex.), DeSales University (Pa.), Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio), Holy Apostles College & Seminary (Conn.), John Paul the Great Catholic University (Cal.), Mount St. Mary’s University (Md.), Saint Gregory’s University (Okla.), Thomas Aquinas College (Cal.), Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (N.H.), University of Mary (N.D.), University of Saint Thomas (Tex.) and Wyoming Catholic College (Wyo.).
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