The University of San Diego (USD) is a Catholic higher education institution. But its health plan for the 2021-2022 school year covers a number of medical procedures and drugs that are directly opposed to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church.
The university said that it is required to cover the services, including abortion, sex-change surgeries, voluntary sterilization and abortifacient birth control due to state and federal law.
A spokesperson would not explain which laws require it.
“USD’s employee and student benefit plans are required to align with state and federal regulations,” spokesperson Lissette Martinez told The College Fix via email on August 6.
“The services mentioned are typically those that are required to be covered, and individuals are encouraged to consult with their medical provider regarding the best course of treatment for any medical concern.”
“Aside from the government mandates as it relates to our insurance benefits,” Martinez said, “USD has a long-standing position as a Catholic university of not promoting such services as they are inconsistent with the university’s Catholic identity and our values.”
She did not respond to a follow-up email on August 6 that asked for clarification on what state and federal regulations mandate the coverage of those services.
While the university said that it has to cover abortion and birth control and other services, its own theology and religious studies chair is glad that students can get abortions paid for by the health insurance plan.
“If the Church’s teaching is not in itself persuasive to patients, coercive tactics that restrict people’s healthcare decisions will not help,” Professor Emily Reimer-Barry told The College Fix, when asked if the university should not cover medical services deemed a serious sin by the Catholic Church.
“More attention should be given to genuine assistance, compassion for people in difficult circumstances, and efforts to listen to their needs and experiences without judgment, blame, or shame.”
“Taking away health care from people facing traumatic medical decisions is not the way forward,” the theology professor said, after elaborating on other issues she sees as “pro-life,” including “white supremacy” and “the gender pay gap.”
Reimer-Barry – a self-identified feminist and Catholic – researches “feminist theology and spirituality, cross-cultural analysis of gender roles and marriage traditions, reproductive justice, and the intersection of public health and Catholic social teachings.”
“Dr. Reimer-Barry is currently working on a grant-funded Wabash cohort project on anti-racist pedagogies as well as a book project focusing on reproductive justice and Catholic ethics,” according to her faculty bio.
The above comes from an August 16th story by Life Site News.
This “Catholic” college is obviously run by “devout” Catholics, like the “devout” Catholics running our country.
The greatest evils in society today are coming from “devout” Catholics.
No they are not.
Maybe these “devout” Catholics meant to describe themselves as “devoid” Catholics.
These are not Catholic colleges and universities anymore they ceased to be years ago these are bastions of left-wing communist atheistic perversions nothing more nothing less.
So much for our “Catholic” college. Mother Hill and Bishop Buddy must be spinning.
The diocese should disaffiliated with USD
It’s not Catholic anymore
Do you know who the bishop of San Diego is? He will do everything he can to stop the celebration of the Latin Mass, but he won’t do a thing to discipline a “Catholic” college that openly goes against Catholic teaching. We need to look to Jesus for leadership, not the lavender mafia.
So many “Catholic” parishes, schools, universities, seminaries, and institutions — and the clergy and laymen who help run them, and the people (and students) whom they serve– are no longer truly Catholics. Many seriously dissent from the Faith. And many do not accept the truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We no longer have a unified Church under Christ’s teachings. The form of the Mass does not matter as much as forming a truly Catholic Church, of truly devout Catholic clergy and laity, worldwide, for Christ.
After World War II, the Nuremberg tribunal ruled that claiming “I was just following orders,” did not remove the guilt of Nazis who committed horrendous crimes agains innocent human beings. How sad to hear the spokespersons for the University of San Diego claiming that the school is required by law to pay for student abortions. Throughout history brave Catholic martyrs have suffered torture and death rather than bend to unjust human laws that defy God’s law. I weep to see that the leaders of USD seem to have no moral courage when it comes to the killing vulnerable human beings.
This group seems not to understand their material cooperation in serious moral evil. The proposition that when one cannot be dissuaded from harming others, we should not seek to restrain them, but should participate in their choice would be laughable if it were applied to killing born persons or to sexual assault. And yet the head of a department of theology makes this argument.
The university is not paying for student abortions. The article is about health insurance.