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A University of Notre Dame sociology professor is suing a student publication for defamation based on articles profiling her pro-abortion views, which are contrary to the Catholic university’s teachings.
Professor Tamara Kay’s complaint seeking damages is pending in St. Joseph Superior Court 4.
The complaint centers on two articles posted in The Irish Rover, a student-led publication. The publication’s slogan is, “Upholding the Catholic character of the University of Notre Dame.”
The first article, “Keough School Professor Offers Abortion Access to Students,” published Oct. 12, 2022, details how Kay — a professor of global affairs and sociology in the university’s Keough School of Global Affairs — shared information about access to abortion care after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade the previous June.
The second article, “Tamara Kay Explains Herself to Notre Dame Democrats,” published March 22, shares comments Kay made during a discussion hosted by College Democrats following criticism of her earlier actions.
Kay takes specific aim at the March article, which describes her conduct as “posting offers to procure abortion pills on her office door.”
According to the complaint, “the sign on her office door stated, ‘This is a safe space to get help and information on all healthcare issues and access — confidentially and with care and compassion.”
That phrasing is used in the October article, which includes a photo of the office door and notes that the sign on the door also featured a “J.”
“The letter ‘J’ on office doors denotes Notre Dame professors who are willing to help students access abortion. … These professors, including Kay, offer help in obtaining both Plan B ‘morning after’ pills and ‘Plan C’ abortion pills, which are efficacious up to 12 weeks of pregnancy,” according to the student report.
Kay does not specifically challenge that description in her complaint, but alleges generally that both articles “contained false and defamation information.”
Kay also alleges that comments attributed to her in the March article were inaccurate because she never actually said them.
“It was written and stated in the article that, ‘Another student asked how Kay — as someone who supports abortion — ended up at Notre Dame, a Catholic university that ‘recognizes and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death,’ … . This question, in fact, was never asked and a recording of the comments conclusively establishes that this exchange never occurred,” the complaint alleges.
The “another student” the article is referencing is a student who attended the College Democrats’ event, “Women @ ND.” According to the article, in response to the alleged question, “(Kay) stated that, though she had some initial reservations about coming to Notre Dame, ‘[her] Catholicism is about social justice, liberation theology, and the Farm Workers’ Movement,’ so she was not particularly worried about working at a Catholic university. Kay added that Dobbs altered her comfortable position at Notre Dame because ‘it made people like [her] with expertise and experience on [the issue of abortion] feel compelled — from a deep, deep, faith-based place — to speak up.’”
The complaint continues, “(Kay) was also falsely stated to have said that ‘if you have that academic freedom, you should use it.’ She never said that. Additionally, the article stated that ‘She acknowledges that not all the students in the crowd could be as forward in their pro-abortion activities as she is: I can’t impose that on you … but I’m doing me, and you should do you.’ She never said that.”
Additionally, the complaint claims a photo of Kay that is the property of the university was used in the March article without her permission. The article credits the Keough School for the photo.
The complaint says Kay requested a retraction but received no response.
According to the complaint, Kay has been harassed and threatened and has experienced damage to her residential property. She also claims she has suffered mentally and emotionally, and has experienced and continues to experience mental anguish and fear for her safety.
A GoFundMe campaign was organized by Susan St. Ville, another professor in the Keough School, on Kay’s behalf, claiming Kay has become the “subject of defamatory stories posted by white nationalist hate groups and by the Irish Rover, an online publication that, though not affiliated with the University, is written by Notre Dame students and lists several faculty members as advisors.”
Kay is requesting punitive damages “in an amount that will fully compensate her for her damages and loss … .” She says the student publication “has, and continues to intentionally act, with malice, wanton and willful misconduct and a reckless disregard for the truth all with the intent to damage and negatively impact the Plaintiff.”
Attorney James Bopp Jr., the lead attorney for The Irish Rover, said the students were surprised by the lawsuit.
“She is just trying to intimidate people and punish them for criticizing her,” Bopp told Indiana Lawyer.
In a July 11 post titled “We Will Not Be Silenced,” The Irish Rover Staff wrote, “Simply put, the articles discussing Professor Kay’s abortion advocacy were fair and accurate in all respects.
“The record will confirm this beyond dispute. The Rover will not apologize for just and truthful reporting that helps Our Lady’s University stay true to its Catholic mission,” the post continues. “To that end, it has produced important stories for twenty years and will continue to do so, with determination and resolve, Professor Kay’s baseless public campaign and lawsuit notwithstanding.”
Kay’s attorney, Michael Sacopulos with Scaopulos Johnson & Scaopulos, did not respond to a request for comment by Indiana Lawyer deadline.
No hearings have yet been set in the case, Tamara Kay v. The Irish Rover, 71D04-2305-CT-000264.
The last action in the case came on June 7, when the defendants were granted a 30-day extension to file a motion or responsive pleading. The deadline for such a filing was Wednesday, but online court records did not show the filing at IL deadline.
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