Pro-choice professor sues conservative college paper for defamation.

A Pro-Abortion Professor Sues University’s Catholic Newspaper for Defamation

A pro-abortion professor at the University of Notre Dame has filed a defamation lawsuit against the university’s Catholic conservative newspaper, the Irish Rover. Tamara Kay, a professor of global affairs and sociology, and a passionate advocate for abortion rights, alleges that the newspaper intentionally published false and defamatory statements about her in two articles.

“Her lawsuit reflects only the latest stage in a tenured professor’s baseless public campaign against undergraduates at her own university who had the temerity to publish accurate stories about her very public abortion advocacy,” the Irish Rover stated in response to Kay’s allegations.

The articles in question, published in October 2022 and March 2023, criticized Kay’s promotion of abortion access despite the university’s opposition to abortion and contraception. While Kay claims that the articles contained false and defamatory information, an analysis by the Daily Caller reveals that they accurately represented the substance of her statements and actions, with only minor inaccuracies in the quotes.

In addition to the lawsuit, Kay alleges that she has faced harassment, threats, and damage to her property as a result of the articles. However, Joseph DeRuil, the former editor of the Irish Rover, dismisses her claims, stating that there is no merit to them.

In response to the lawsuit, the Irish Rover has filed an Anti-SLAPP motion, seeking to dismiss the professor’s claims. They believe that the lawsuit is an attempt to silence criticism, as SLAPP stands for “strategic lawsuits against public participation.”

The October article, written by DeRuil, accused Kay and other professors of offering assistance in obtaining Plan B and Plan C pills, which are not available on the pro-life university’s campus. The article also cited a message on Kay’s door and tweets from her Twitter account as evidence of her pro-abortion activities.

The March article reported on Kay’s remarks at a College Democrats event, where she discussed her views on being a pro-abortion advocate at a university that does not allow student groups promoting abortion or contraceptives. Kay denies some of the claims made in the article.

The University of Notre Dame has not yet addressed the lawsuit, but its president, Fr. John Jenkins, has previously disavowed a pro-abortion op-ed written by Kay and reiterated the university’s stance against abortion.