Catholic Notre Dame University hires pro-abortion activist to lead institute

The University of Notre Dame is under fire once again, as the Catholic institution has elevated a pro-abortion activist to serve as director of the Asian Studies Institute on campus.

Key Takeaways:

• Susan Ostermann, an associate professor of global affairs at Notre Dame, a Catholic institution, has been the new director of the university’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies since July 1.

• Ostermann is an outspoken abortion advocate, having repeatedly derided laws protecting preborn children as a form of violence.

• She has described abortion as a way to create "freedom" and has authored pro-abortion articles with Tamara Kay, a professor who offered to help students obtain illegal abortions.

The Details:

Susan Ostermann was announced as director of the Liu Institute in a Notre Dame press release, in which she was lauded as an "exceptional scholar" and a "deeply engaged teacher." While Ostermann's area of focus is political science, specifically in Asia, she is also an outspoken abortion activist.

She has written numerous pro-abortion essays with another professor at the university. Among those essays are arguments linking attempts to outlaw abortion to white supremacy, and claims that "forced birth" (an accusatory term used to demean pro-lifers and pro-life laws) is violence against women and "traumatic sexual abuse."

That co-author, Professor Tamara Kay, was previously caught helping students to get illegal abortions. “We are here (as private citizens, not representatives of ND) to help you access healthcare when you need it, and we are prepared in every way,” she wrote on social media. “Look for the ‘J’, Spread the word to students!”

She then posted a "J" on her office door. “This is a SAFE SPACE to get help and information on ALL Healthcare issues and access — confidentially with care and compassion,” a note posted alongside the "J" read, with her non-Notre Dame e-mail address attached.

The Irish Rover, a student-run newspaper, reported on Kay's actions, and she sued for defamation, but her case was dismissed.

According to Notre Dame's press release, Ostermann has even been a consultant for the Population Council, which Live Action News noted is "the eugenics organization credited with bringing the abortion pill (RU-486) to the United States." As Live Action News also previously explained:

The Rockefeller Foundation was influential in the eugenics movement, and created the Population Council after World War II. According to author Edwin Black, “The Rockefeller Foundation helped found the German eugenics program and even funded the program that Josef Mengele worked in before he went to Auschwitz.” This foundation continues to donate to abortion organizations today.

Bill Dempsey, chairman and founding president of the Sycamore Trust, an independent organization of alumni and friends dedicated to maintaining Notre Dame's Catholic identity, told the National Catholic Register that Ostermann's new position diminishes what the university is meant to stand for.

"Professor Ostermann is a public advocate of an action the Church has through the ages taught is gravely evil. It teaches that as a moral truth, just as it does the equal dignity of all persons irrespective of race,” he said, adding:

“Notre Dame would not elevate to a position of prestige and influence a professor who espouses white supremacy. Why, then, one who espouses abortion? This is doubtless how the princes of secular academe would act, since the cultural elite condemns discrimination but tolerates abortion. So here Notre Dame is acting as a secular rather than a Catholic school, and it is a scandal, especially to its students.”

Why It Matters:

Notre Dame has increasingly faced criticism for abandoning its Catholic and pro-life ideals.

Notre Dame is one of multiple Christian universities which maintains ties to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion chain. In 2023, Notre Dame also approved a talk featuring an “abortion doula” who discussed “abortion care." The year prior, the school chose to stop sponsoring a pro-life event, though it had done so for over a decade prior... and hosted a pro-abortion event the same night instead.

More recently, Notre Dame was criticized for removing "acceptance and support for the Catholic mission" from its list of staff values.

The Bottom Line:

As a private, Catholic university, Notre Dame should be fighting to protect life. Instead, it is frequently allowing staff to do the exact opposite.