In October 2017, Americans United and the National Women’s Law Center filed Shiraef v. Hargan , a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s contraception coverage rules. We represented women at risk of being denied birth control coverage, including University of Notre Dame students.

Barely a week after we filed the case, Notre Dame reversed course on its plan to take advantage of the Trump administration rules, announcing instead that employees and students would continue to have contraceptive coverage. Because these women were promised access to birth control at the time, they decided they didn’t need to continue their lawsuit.

Then, in February 2018, Notre Dame reversed course again after signing an illegal settlement agreement with the Trump Administration. Notre Dame announced that it would stop covering certain forms of contraception for 17,000 students, employees, and their families. The Trump Administration and university bargained away these women’s rights, but we’re not going to let them get away with it. We're suing again.

Religious freedom is a fundamental American value. So is a woman's right to make her own decisions about healthcare. These new rules betray both. Employers and universities shouldn’t be able to use religion as an excuse to dictate their employees’ or students’ health care choices.

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