A state judge ruled against Notre Dame professor Tamara Kay on Monday after the pro-abortion faculty member at the Catholic university sued a conservative student newspaper, alleging it defamed her.
Kay, who teaches sociology, sued the student newspaper — the Irish Rover — last May, claiming it made “false and defamatory statements” about her in two articles that revealed the professor was promoting abortion access, even though Notre Dame states that it holds a view consistent with the Catholic Church opposing abortion. St. Joseph County, Indiana, Judge Steven David ruled that the court found the statements made about Kay in the articles “were true, within the meaning of the law, not made with actual malice, [and] did not contain a defamatory inference,” the College Fix reported.
“The Court concludes that the allegedly defamatory statements were made in the furtherance of the defendant’s right to free speech, were made in connection with a public issue, were made with good faith and with a reasonable basis in law and fact,” David wrote.
Kay alleged that after the Irish Rover published its articles on her, she “has been harassed, threatened, and experienced damage to her residential property” and “has suffered mentally and emotionally.” In his ruling, however, the judge wrote that Kay “has intentionally placed herself into the national discussion on abortion” after she posted on social media and published commentary in newspapers “advocating abortion legalization.”
The professor complained about a headline used by the Irish Rover for one of its pieces, which stated that she was “Help[ing] Students Obtain Abortions.” Kay argued that the headline defamed her, but Judge David wrote that the headline “was not unreasonable given all of the facts of this case,” according to the College Fix.
The Irish Rover reported that Kay placed a poster on her door that had a “J” with a circle around it, which “denotes Notre Dame professors who are willing to help students access abortion.”
“This is a SAFE SPACE to get help and information on ALL Healthcare issues and access—confidentially with care and compassion,” the poster said.
Judge David wrote that the encircled “J” on the poster “can most reasonably mean to infer” that Kay was “willing to help students access abortions,” which was the crux of the Irish Rover’s article.
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Kay’s lawsuit also alleged that the newspaper misrepresented her quotes. The National Review listened to the audio obtained by the Irish Rover and found that the quotes were accurate while there was some deviation. The Daily Caller also analyzed recordings of Kay and found that there were a few “minor inaccuracies” in the Irish Rover’s reporting, but its articles accurately preserved the substance of the professor’s statements and actions.