On Tuesday, February 3, a law professor and an honorary retired research professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana told Fox News Digital that they will sever ties with the Liu Family Asia Studies Institute at the university in protest of the appointment of a professor publicly supporting abortion as the next institute director.
In an email sent to Michel Hockx, the director of the Liu Family Asia Studies Institute, theology honorary research professor Robert M. Gimello expressed his disappointment, stating, “I am writing to inform you with sadness and regret that the recently announced appointment of the successor to the director of the Liu Institute has forced me to resign from my position as Honorary Research Fellow of the Institute.”
He mentioned that with the next institute director supporting abortion, he no longer wishes to be affiliated with the institute in any way.
On Wednesday, the University of Notre Dame’s law and global affairs professor, Diane A. Desierto, confirmed in a statement that she had submitted her resignation to the university president, dean of faculty, Keough School dean, and the current director of the Liu Family Asia Studies Institute, relinquishing her roles as faculty researcher and faculty executive committee member at the Liu Institute.
On January 8, the university announced that Susan Ostermann would assume the role of director of the Asia Studies Institute in July. Ostermann, who entered the university in 2017 and currently serves as a global affairs professor, is an advocate for abortion rights.
In 2022, Ostermann co-authored an article titled “The Lies of Abortion Influence Our Health Policies,” supporting abortion.
The reasons the two individuals provided include that “almost 90% of abortions occur within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy when there is no baby or fetus yet, only an embryo that is too small to be seen on an abdominal ultrasound.”
They called claims about the dangers of abortion “lies… baseless,” emphasizing that “research shows that abortion is safe and does not have long-term effects on physical and mental health.” The article also stated that abortion “does not cause cancer, does not affect future fertility, and most people feel relief after an abortion and do not regret their decision.”
In another article from 2022, the two individuals wrote that “criminalizing abortion would cause irreparable harm… increasing abortion rates, unintended pregnancies, and infant mortality,” while abortion “enhances freedom… social justice and human dignity… the inherent dignity of women…”
Gimello criticized Ostermann in his statement for “repeatedly and firmly opposing the teachings of the Catholic Church: protecting and nurturing human life from conception to natural death is the sacred responsibility of the entire human society.”
He condemned continuing formal contact with university departments led by such individuals as unforgivable, believing that Ostermann’s appointment would make those outside Notre Dame feel that the university has strayed from its Catholic tradition identity.
The University of Notre Dame stated that they stand by their previous statement regarding Ostermann’s appointment.
(This article was referenced from Fox News reporting)