Notre Dame hire of abortion advocate to lead center causes staff to cut ties with university

Media

Notre Dame hire of abortion advocate to lead center causes staff to cut ties with university

Robert Gimello says Susan Ostermann's public advocacy conflicts with Catholic university's mission

Rachel del Guidice Fox News

Published

February 5, 2026 6:00am EST

Video

Pro-life activists urge Trump administration to limit abortion pill access

The ‘Fox News Sunday’ panel weighs in on the debate over abortion pills and the potential influence of pro-life activists on the Trump administration.

NEW

You can now listen to Fox News articles!

A University of Notre Dame law professor as well as a research professor emeritus told Fox News Digital they are cutting ties with the university's Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies in protest over the institute’s appointment of a professor who has publicly supported abortion.

"I confirm that I submitted my resignation to the University President, Provost, Keough School Dean, and the current Liu Institute Director, giving up my appointments as a Faculty Fellow and member of the Faculty Executive Committee of the Liu Institute yesterday," Diane A. Desierto, professor of law and global affairs, told Fox News Digital in a statement Wednesday.

Additionally, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Robert M. Gimello, research professor emeritus of theology, informed Michel Hockx, director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the University of Notre Dame, that he does not want to be affiliated with the institute following the appointment of Susan Ostermann.

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN CHICAGO COVERS 'ABORTION CARE SERVICES' THROUGH STUDENT HEALTH PLAN

Fox News Digital obtained a letter from Robert M. Gimello, where he stated he no longer wants to be affiliated with the university. (Getty Images)

Notre Dame announced Jan. 8 that Ostermann, who joined the university in 2017 as a global affairs professor, will assume her role as director of the Asian studies center in July.

"Dear Michel: In dismay, and with regret, I write to tell you that the recently announced appointment of your successor as Director of the Liu Center compels my resignation from my position as Emeritus Fellow of the Center," Gimello wrote in the letter emailed to Hockx on Monday.

"Please remove my name and photograph from the Liu Institute’s roster," Gimello added. "I can only hope —and I will pray — for a future in which the Institute fulfills its proper role as a faithful instrument of our University’s Catholic mission."

Gimello is not listed as a Liu Institute emeritus fellow on his university biography page, but other profiles of Gimello list him as having been a fellow.

In 2022, Ostermann co-authored an article titled, "Lies about abortion have dictated our health policy," with former Notre Dame professor Tamara Kay.

In the article, Ostermann and Kay argued, "Almost 90% of abortions occur during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy when there are no babies or fetuses. There are only blastocysts or embryos so tiny they are too small to be seen on an abdominal ultrasound."

They also called it a "lie" that abortion is dangerous, writing, "This could not be further from the truth. Research shows abortion is safe and does not have long-term effects on physical or mental health."

STUDENTS FOR LIFE REPORT FINDS MASSIVE UPTICK IN CHRISTIAN COLLEGES' SUPPORT FOR ABORTION, PLANNED PARENTHOOD

The University of Notre Dame Campus with the Golden Dome, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and Washington Hall. (Aaron Yoder via Getty Images)

The authors further wrote that abortion "doesn’t cause cancer, it doesn’t affect future fertility, and most people feel relief after an abortion and do not regret their decision. Up to 11 weeks, medication abortions are generally performed using mifepristone and misoprostol, which are safer than taking Tylenol."

In another 2022 article published by Salon, titled "Forced pregnancy and childbirth are violence against women — and also terrible health policy," Ostermann and Kay wrote, "Criminalizing abortion results in irreparable harm. In fact, it actually has the opposite policy effect that anti-abortion advocates say they want: It can increase abortion rates, unintended pregnancies and infant mortality."

Additionally, they wrote, "Abortion access is freedom-enhancing, in the truest sense of the word. Consistent with integral human development that emphasizes social justice and human dignity, abortion access respects the inherent dignity of women, their freedom to make choices and to evaluate medical and other risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth."

Gimello told Fox News Digital in a statement that his resignation was driven by Ostermann’s public advocacy for abortion.

NOTRE DAME’S NEW ‘ND VALUES’ LIST REMOVES EXPLICIT CALL FOR STAFF TO SUPPORT SCHOOL’S CATHOLIC MISSION

Ostermann and her co-author Kay wrote that it is a "lie" that abortion is dangerous, writing, "This could not be further from the truth. Research shows abortion is safe and does not have long-term effects on physical or mental health." (iStock)

"You would be correct to assume that the principal reason for my resignation is the sad fact that administrators of the world’s preeminent Catholic university have chosen to appoint, as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, a scholar who has repeatedly, publicly, and adamantly proclaimed her opposition to (verging at times, it seems to me, on contempt for) the Catholic Church’s firm teaching that protection and nourishment of human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is a sacred duty incumbent upon the whole human community," Gimello said.

He added, "Continued formal association with a unit of the University led by such a person is, for me, simply unconscionable — this regardless of whatever considerable talents and accomplishments the appointee might otherwise bring to the job."

Gimello also expressed concern that Ostermann’s appointment would confuse those outside of Notre Dame about the university’s adherence to Catholic identity.

"Moreover, I am myself a scholar whose work focuses chiefly on Asia, particularly Asia’s religious and intellectual traditions, both in themselves and in comparison with Christianity," he said. "The Liu Institute, for its part, is not only Notre Dame’s principal organ for the study of Asia; it is also its chief conduit for institutional relations with Asia. It is, as it were, Notre Dame’s ‘Asian face.’"

Gimello said he is concerned that Ostermann’s appointment will confuse those outside of Notre Dame about the university’s adherence to Catholic identity. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

"Questions and controversies regarding the nature and value of human life (not least questions concerning abortion, population control, euthanasia, etc.) are, of course, central to the intellectual, religious, and ethical traditions of all Asian countries, all the more so in these troubled and contentious times," Gimello said.

"I believe, therefore, that it is essential to Notre Dame’s Asian outreach that it faithfully represent to its Asian and Asian Studies interlocutors the Catholic Church’s views on these most fundamental matters," he added. "I doubt that anyone so hostile to, or dismissive of, those views — as this newly appointed person seems clearly to be — even if she were to try to muffle her hostility, could do justice to Notre Dame’s properly Catholic endeavors in and about Asia. I fear now that this appointment will suggest to our Asian associates, and to scholars of Asia at other institutions here and abroad, that Notre Dame is deeply at odds with the Church that it claims to represent in the realms of higher education."

Notre Dame told Fox News Digital that it stands by their previous statement about Ostermann's appointment.

A representative affiliated with the university said that "Gimello retired from the Department of Theology in 2017 and has not been an active member of either the Theology Department or Liu Institute since then. Until recently, he was listed as an emeritus fellow with the Liu Institute as a professional courtesy."

Fox News Digital reached out to Ostermann for comment.

Rachel del Guidice is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to rachel.delguidice@fox.com.

Notre Dame hire of abortion advocate to lead center causes staff to cut ties with university