Fallout Continues at Notre Dame Over Pro-Abortion Appointee

February 5, 2026

Two scholars have resigned from the University of Notre Dame’s Asian studies institute over concerns that the university has named an outspoken advocate of legal abortion as its next director.

The National Catholic Register reports that Robert Gimello, a research professor emeritus of theology, and Diane Desierto, a professor of law and of global affairs, have cut ties with the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies after learning that Susan Ostermann will become the institute’s new leader starting July 1.

Ostermann, an associate professor of global affairs and political science at Notre Dame’s Keough School for Public Affairs, is said to have co-authored 11 columns for newspapers and opinion websites between May 2022 and May 2024 arguing for legal abortion and against attempts to prohibit it.

In his resignation letter, Gimello described Ostermann as “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 later told the Register, in an email, that “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.”

According to the Register, Notre Dame announced Ostermann’s appointment to lead the Liu Institute on Jan. 8 and the university has stood by the appointment despite calls from some faculty members to reverse it.

The university said in a statement, “Those who serve in leadership positions at Notre Dame do so with the clear understanding that their decision-making as leaders must be guided by and consistent with the University’s Catholic mission. Notre Dame’s commitment to upholding the inherent dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life at every stage is unwavering.”

Photo: top, Credit: Shutterstock