Contraception and Conscience: A Symposium on Religious Liberty, Women’s Health, and the HHS Rule on Provision of Birth Control Coverage for Employees

A conference examining the legal, theological, health, equality, and ethical issues relating to the recent Rule promulgated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on “Coverage of Preventive Services Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," this symposium brought together legal, religious, and cultural scholars and practitioners for a day-long conversation about the increasingly contentious public debate surrounding the HHS Rule requiring employers to subsidize preventive health services for employees, the religious accommodations in the HHS rule, and the lawsuits filed by religious objectors challenging the rule.

The conference was co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the Georgetown University Law Center. It was made possible through a grant from the Ford Foundation.

SCHEDULE

Introduction | Dean William M. Treanor

The Legal Challenges to the HHS Contraception Rule | Martin Lederman,
Louise Melling, Melissa Rogers, Robert Vischer, Lori Windham

What is the Burden on Religious Exercise? | Lisa Sowle Cahill, Patrick Deneen, Cathleen Kaveny, Michael Kessler, John Langan, S.J., Robert Tuttle

A Broader Focus | Gregg Bloche, Tracy Fessenden, Eduardo Peñalver, Robin West, Robin Fretwell Wilson

related | Resources and background on the HHS mandate and subsequent debate