Santa Clara University, a Catholic institution near Silicon Valley, is dropping coverage for elective abortions under health insurance for its faculty and staff members.
The decision, shared via a two-page letter sent from University President Michael Engh to 1,600 employees, has divided the school community.
In the letter, Engh, a Jesuit priest, said the university examined how the university could structure its medical insurance plans in 2014 to comply with federal and state laws while remaining true to its values as a Jesuit institution. The university concluded that "our core commitments as a Catholic university are incompatible with the inclusion of elective abortion coverage in the university's health plans," Engh said.
Recommended For You
But faculty members are split on the issue. One, quoted in the San Jose Mercury News, said the new policy's aim to be sensitive to women missed the mark.
"The male Jesuits running Santa Clara University feel they know what God wants regarding women's bodies and women's reproduction," said anthropology professor Mary Hegland.
"In the letter, President Engh informs us that he has decided that the 'Catholic' identity of the university means the university will no longer have health insurance for employees cover elective abortions," Michael Kevane, SCU economist and director of Friends of African Village Libraries, wrote in his Oct. 10 blog post. "I put (Catholic) in quotes because for Catholics in the church hierarchy, i.e. priests and bishops, it is clear what Catholic identity is because the Pope tells them, while for the rest of us that identity seems to ebb and flow."
Santa Clara's decision comes shortly after a similar initiative made by trustees at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, another Jesuit school. They also decided not to provide coverage for elective abortions.
Health plans must cover birth control under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but the law allows employers to offer plans that restrict abortion coverage. State law requires contraception coverage and abortions that are deemed medically necessary to save the mother's life or health.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
