Notre Dame president protests birth control inclusion

Notre Dame protestors object to the selection of President Barack Obama as the Notre Dame Commencement speaker. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul should be changed so that religious schools such as the University of Notre Dame aren’t required to go against their beliefs and provide birth control to students and employees, the school president says.

The Rev. John Jenkins wrote a letter Wednesday to Kathleen Sebelius asking the Obama administration to broaden the definition of religious employer currently under consideration to ensure the school can continue to provide health care without going against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. He said the change in definition of religious employer is far narrower than current law and would require Notre Dame and other Catholic universities to offer prescription contraceptives and sterilization services to students and employees through health care plans.