Historically Catholic University Appoints Professor Who Calls Abortion Bans ‘Sexual Violence’
The University of Notre Dame, a historically Catholic institution, has promoted a professor the school previously criticized for calling state abortion bans “sexual violence.”
Notre Dame has named associate professor Susan Ostermann as the new director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Ostermann in 2022, while already employed at the university, co-authored an opinion piece disparaging the state’s ban on abortion and denying that babies in the womb are living beings. (RELATED: Historically, Catholic University Abandons Catholic Mission of Staff Values for a More “Global” Identity)
“The criminalization of abortion causes irreparable harm,” the editorial reads. The authors go on to deny that “abortions kill babies.”
“Nearly 90% of abortions occur in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, when there is no baby or fetus. There are only blastocysts or embryos so small that they are too small to be visible on an abdominal ultrasound.”
Ostermann states in the article that forcing women to have an ultrasound before killing their babies through abortion is “sexual violence” and denies any negative effects of abortion, saying women do not regret this action. The editorial also echoes the oft-quoted lie that abortion pills “are safer than taking Tylenol.”
People attend the annual March for Life rally on January 23, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Notre Dame’s then-president wrote a public response to the article, stating that while both authors were “free to express their opinions on our campus or in any public forum,” the article “does not reflect the views and values of the University of Notre Dame in its tone, arguments, or assertions.”
Much criticism arose at the time, not only of the article itself, but also of the university’s response.
“[T]His response seems somewhat minimal,” Jonathan Liedl, editor of the National Catholic Register and a Notre Dame alumnus, said in a 2022 analysis. “Even if professors cannot be removed from their positions because of the university’s academic freedom policies (which are themselves questionable under current Catholic teaching on academic freedom and the pursuit of truth), one would think that Father Jenkins could use the opening created by the Kay and Ostermann scandal to provide a stronger articulation of Notre Dame’s commitment to defending the sanctity of life by promoting prenatal justice in the pages of the Tribune.
Notre Dame’s Catholic faith was called into question recently after it attempted to change its staff values to exclude the requirement that employees understand and accept “the Catholic mission of the university,” replacing the term with more generic terms. The university backed down after being accused by many of watering down its historic Catholic mission.
Before that, a top Notre Dame academic official said hiring women and minorities was “just as important” to the school’s mission as hiring Catholics.
The university did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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