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Friday, May 15, 2026
The Observer

Opinion



The Observer

Condoms and contraceptive coverage

At midnight on Feb. 7, University President Fr. John Jenkins distributed an email to the Notre Dame community at large, describing the latest installment in Notre Dame’s enduring efforts to regulate birth control and the reproductive rights of its faculty, staff and students. In the fall of 2017, the University declared that coverage of birth control would be discontinued. After considerable backlash, Jenkins reversed this decision. Now, Jenkins’ Feb. 7 email has changed the policy again: Notre Dame will provide coverage for “simple contraceptives” through its own insurance plan rather than through third-party insurers, but will uphold Catholic values by not providing “abortifacients.” The email failed to specify precisely which medications were included in each category.