{"id":30628,"date":"2026-01-23T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30628"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:00:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:00:32","slug":"catholic-university-criticized-for-covering-abortion-services-through-student-health-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/catholic-university-criticized-for-covering-abortion-services-through-student-health-plan","title":{"rendered":"Catholic University Criticized For Covering Abortion Services Through Student Health Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Ken Wolter \/ Shutterstock.com | Right: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Loyola University in Chicago is being criticized for offering student health plans that cover abortion services. The university is a Jesuit institution that was founded in 1870 with an emphasis on Catholic values, which do not include abortion. However, for the last four years, the school has offered a UnitedHealthcare Student Health Insurance Plan that touts its coverage includes \u201cabortion care services.\u201d The plan also offers \u201cvoluntary sterilization procedures,\u201d which also goes against Catholic teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has \u201caffirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Catholic Diocese of Chicago has not commented on the plan. Saint Xavier University in Chicago, another Jesuit institution, has also offered a health plan that covers abortion services for at least the past two years. Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle told The Fix<\/em><\/a> that \u201cThis scandal comes as no surprise,\u201d adding that \u201cJesuit institutions, contrary to the specific prohibitions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, routinely give awards, honors and platforms to pro-abortion public figures, and have done so for decades.\u201d Doyle warned that Catholic universities like Loyola and Boston College that offer such plans offer a mixed message about abortion. \u201cBy utilizing this healthcare plan, the leadership of Loyola is indeed sending to its student body a[\u2026]\u00a0 message that the willful murder of the innocent\u2014a sin that crieth to heaven for vengeance\u2014is morally permissible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He called on Jesuit institutions to reform from the invasion of \u201cculturally conforming.\u201d \u201cLike the pre-Reformation Church, Jesuit higher education cries out for reform,\u201d he said. An investigation by The Fix <\/em>found that 1 in 4 Catholic Jesuit universities offer so-called \u201cgender-affirming care.\u201d Boston College\u2019s coverage includes \u201cbreast reduction, breast augmentation, breast implants or breast prosthetic devices\u201d for the purposes of \u201cgender affirming or gender dysphoria treatment.\u201d Loyola\u2019s student health plan isn\u2019t the only thing promoting anti-Catholic values. In November 2024, the university\u2019s student newspaper, \u201cThe Maroon,\u201d supported \u201cwomen\u2019s right to an abortion\u201d in an article supporting Kamala Harris\u2019s presidential run. \u201cChristian by name only. Satanic in their actions,\u201d said one user on X<\/a>. \u201cMost old Christian university have fallen away from the teaching of scripture,\u201d wrote another user<\/a>. \u201cA name on a school can no longer be trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Loyola University in Chicago is being criticized for offering student health plans that cover abortion services. The university is a Jesuit institution that was founded in 1870 with an emphasis on Catholic values, which do not include abortion. However, for the last four years, the school has offered a UnitedHealthcare Student Health Insurance Plan that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholic University Criticized For Covering Abortion Services Through Student Health Plan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jesuit schools face scrutiny as Loyola Chicago offers student health plans covering abortion services, sparking backlash from Catholics.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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