The University of Notre Dame has doubled down on appointing Susan Ostermann, an associate professor of global affairs and vocal abortion supporter, as director of its Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, effective July 1. This decision strikes at the heart of Notre Dame’s Catholic mission to uphold the inherent dignity of every human person, including the unborn, whose lives are sacred from conception.
Ostermann has repeatedly framed pro-life laws as “violence,” “sexual abuse,” and “trauma,” even tying opposition to abortion to white supremacy in co-authored columns for The Indianapolis Star, Salon, and Chicago Tribune. She argues that unrestricted abortion access promotes “integral human development” by respecting women’s dignity—a twisted inversion that dismisses the unborn child’s right to life as expendable.
A Notre Dame spokesman reiterated the university’s “unwavering” commitment to the sanctity of life at every stage. Ostermann claimed to “respect Notre Dame’s institutional position” and vowed not to advance a personal agenda, focusing instead on academic freedom and diverse voices.
Yet her history of inflammatory rhetoric belies this, raising alarms about injecting radical pro-abortion ideology into a Catholic institution. Holy Cross Father Wilson Miscamble branded it a “disgraceful decision” in First Things, exposing the “hollowness” of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and urging the Board of Fellows to revoke it. Law professor O. Carter Snead decried her “inflammatory rhetoric” and “uncharitable tone.” Sycamore Institute’s Bill Dempsey warned it signals pro-life principles are of “lesser importance,” eroding the university’s moral foundation.
Notre Dame defends Ostermann for her expertise in regulatory compliance and Asian research, like forestry in India and Nepal, positioning her to expand global partnerships. But this prioritizes secular credentials over fidelity to Church teachings on life’s inviolability. As abortion claims innocent lives, Notre Dame’s stance betrays its heritage, demanding a recommitment to defending the vulnerable unborn against such ideological encroachments.