When radical pro-abortion advocate Susan Ostermann was announced as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the University of Notre Dame, the decision resulted in immediate backlash. Ostermann joined the university in 2017 as a professor of global affairs.
Following the fallout, Ostermann announced on Thursday that she will no longer pursue the position.
Per Fox News:
In a Thursday message obtained by Fox News Digital, Mary Gallagher, professor of global affairs and the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, wrote, “Dear Keough School community, Today I would like to share that Professor Susan Ostermann, a member of the Keough School faculty who was recently appointed director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, has decided not to move forward as director.”
In the message, Gallagher also said, “Susan is a respected scholar of South Asian politics and regulatory governance whose research and teaching reflect the intellectual rigor and interdisciplinary excellence at the heart of both the Liu Institute and the Keough School of Global Affairs. I am grateful for her willingness to serve and for the thoughtfulness with which she approached this decision.”
Despite Notre Dame’s assertion of being steeped in Catholic identity, the University announced Ostermann’s appointment even with her very public support of abortion access.
In 2022, Ostermann co-authored an opinion piece, “Lies about abortion have dictated our health policy
The op-ed frames any restrictions on abortion as harmful and based on “utter falsities,” and says 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.”
Ostermann further claims that, “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.”
The radical article drew heavy criticism at the time, even from Notre Dame’s then-president, Fr. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., who publicly disavowed it as not reflecting the university’s values.
In nearly a dozen op-eds that Ostermann also wrote, she claimed the pro-life position has “its roots in white supremacy and racism,” and has misogyny “embedded” in the movement.
Pro-life and Catholic student groups (e.g., Notre Dame Right to Life executive board) publicly called for the university to rescind the appointment, describing her past writings (including the 2022 Chicago Tribune op-ed on abortion) as incompatible with Notre Dame’s Catholic identity.
On February 24, students organized a prayer gathering at the university’s Marian grotto, joined by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, to pray for life and express concerns.
The local bishop of the University of Notre Dame led an on-campus prayer service Feb. 24, praying for the university’s faithfulness to its Catholic mission amid ongoing controversy over the appointment of a pro-abortion professor to a leadership position.
Bishop Kevin Rhoades of… pic.twitter.com/YiNVHUoznV
— EWTN News (@EWTNews) February 25, 2026
A demonstration/protest called “March on the Dome” was planned for February 27, to advocate for the university’s Catholic identity. Organizers framed it as a corrective action “out of love” for the university, involving speeches and public witness.
After Ostermann declined the role, the group confirmed the event would still proceed, stating, “This is great news, but although we won the battle, the war wages on.”
Bishop Kevin Rhoades has been at the forefront of questioning Ostermann’s appointment, expressing his ‘dismay and strong opposition.’
Bishop Rhoades wrote:
Also disqualifying is Professor Ostermann’s work as a consultant for the Population Council. For those who have never heard of it, this is an organization dedicated to the promotion of abortion around the world. It has been linked to China’s population control policies that have resulted in hundreds of millions of abortions of baby girls. It was also instrumental in securing approval of the abortion pill by the FDA, which is responsible for the majority of abortions in the United States.
Some may claim that this appointment should be protected by academic freedom. Academic freedom concerns the liberty of faculty to conduct research according to their own professional judgment and interests. This appointment, by contrast, concerns the official administrative appointment to lead an academic unit. Such appointments have profound impact on the integrity of Notre Dame’s public witness as a Catholic university.
This appointment understandably creates confusion in the public mind as to Notre Dame’s fidelity to its Catholic mission. Many faculty, students, alumni, and benefactors of Notre Dame have reached out to me to express their shock, sadness, confusion, and disappointment. I share their feelings as well as their love for Notre Dame. I can testify from my personal experience and active presence at Notre Dame that the faith is alive there and continues to be nurtured by committed students, faculty, staff, members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and members of the extended Notre Dame family. Let us ask Our Lady of Lourdes, whose feast the Church celebrates today, to intercede for the Notre Dame community and its leaders during these days. I invite you to say a prayer or light a candle at her grotto, invoking her prayers that Notre Dame will always stand firm in her commitment to the Gospel of her Son, the Gospel of Life.
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