Notre Dame professor allegedly distributes contraceptives to students in violation of Catholic teaching
A professor at the University of Notre Dame secretly booked rooms to distribute condoms and Plan B pills to students, a campus newspaper has reported.
Catholic teaching forbids the use of artificial contraceptives.
A professor at the University of Notre Dame secretly booked rooms to distribute condoms and Plan B pills to students, a newspaper on campus has reported, in direct violation of Catholic sexual ethics.
According to a report published by The Irish Rover on Wednesday, Nov. 19, gender studies professor Pam Butler booked rooms on campus for a non-official student organization to provide contraceptives, condoms, Plan B pills, and information on where to receive an abortion.
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Butler’s profile describes her research interests as “US histories of gender, sexuality, and empire,” “feminist, queer, and trans theories of race and racialization,” “reproductive politics,” and “carceral studies.”
The non-recognized student organization is Irish 4 Reproductive Health (I4RH), “an all-volunteer, student-led, community-based organization advocating for reproductive justice.”
The group’s understanding of “reproductive justice” means “contraception and abortion access for anyone who chooses it,” and the organization advertises free contraception on its Instagram page.
The Irish Rover, which is dedicated to upholding Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, reported earlier this month that Irish 4 Reproductive Health openly distributes contraceptives on campus.
Catholic Social Teaching prohibits contraceptive use as violating an essential aspect of marriage, namely, procreation.
As a Catholic university affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dame claims to uphold the Church’s teachings on this subject.
“The University embraces the Catholic Church’s teaching that a genuine and complete expression of love through sex requires a commitment to a total living and sharing together of two persons in marriage,” the university’s website says.
“The use of artificial contraceptives to prevent conception is contrary to Catholic teaching, though many conscientiously disagree with this particular teaching,” former Notre Dame President John Jenkins said in a 2018 message to the university.
Jacqueline Liedl, an assistant law professor at Notre Dame, criticized the university’s inaction.
Liedl told The Irish Rover that Notre Dame is “committed to the Catholic mission on paper, and often lives that out, but is sometimes less committed to policing every instance of a disruption of that mission in practice.”
The professor continued to say that the student club is “completely scandalous and obviously antithetical to the Catholic mission, but it seems to me that the university may be hesitant to address it at this stage.”
On Nov. 10, Notre Dame announced it had removed a staff value that referenced the school’s Catholic identity, a decision that drew criticism from Catholic voices.
The university formerly encouraged staff to adopt the value of “Leadership in Mission: Understands, accepts and supports the Catholic mission of the university and fosters values consistent with that mission.”
Campus Reform contacted the University of Notre Dame, Professor Pam Butler, and Irish 4 Reproductive Health for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
