Court dismisses pro-abortion Notre Dame prof's lawsuit against conservative student paper
Tamara Kay, a pro-abortion professor at the University of Notre Dame, had her defamation lawsuit against a student newspaper dismissed by an Indiana court.
The Irish Rover published two articles on her support for abortion at the Catholic institution that Professor Kay has stated included 'defamatory and false statements.'
On Jan. 5, Tamara Kay, a pro-abortion professor at the University of Notre Dame, had her defamation lawsuit against a conservative student newspaper dismissed by an Indiana court.
The newspaper, The Irish Rover, published two articles, one in October 2022 and the other in March 2023, that Professor Kay has stated included “defamatory and false statements.”
The articles focused on Kay’s support for abortion and her offers to aid students in obtaining access to abortion, descriptions that the professor believed crossed the line of defamation.
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The professor of Global Affairs and Sociology’s suit was dismissed under Indiana anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) laws.
According to National Review, Indiana Superior Court Judge Steven David found that “the alleged defamatory statements were true, within the meaning of the law, not made with actual malice, [and] did not contain a defamatory inference.”
He also said that the alleged defamatory statements “were made in the furtherance of the defendant’s right to free speech, were made in connection with a public issue, [and] were made with good faith and with a reasonable basis in law and fact.”
The decision also indicated that Kay, “cannot voluntarily put herself into the national abortion issue either on the campus of Notre Dame or in a broader, national forum, by making multiple strong statements in favor of abortion rights and access to abortion and expect that it will not become newsworthy at Notre Dame and elsewhere.”
In statements to National Review, Irish Rover student editor Joe DeReuil said that he was “gratified to see the court confirm this morning what we at the Irish Rover were sure of all along: that we published nothing but the truth and that we acted entirely in good faith.”
He continued, “I hope that our successful defense against this suit from a tenured Notre Dame professor will encourage others to confidently exercise their right to free speech in pursuit of the truth.”
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Editorial staff of The Irish Rover also commented about the dismissal of the lawsuit on Jan. 8. “In filing and pursuing this lawsuit over the course of the last year, Kay attempted to silence and intimidate undergraduate students at her own university for accurate reporting on her public comments,” they said.
“We hope that this ruling will serve to discourage such efforts to chill free speech in the future and invigorate others to courageously exercise their right to freedom of speech in pursuit of the truth,” they continued.
Campus Reform has contacted Tamara Kay, Joe DeReuil, and the University of Notre Dame for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
