A pro-abortion professor at the University of Notre Dame has sued the university’s Catholic conservative newspaper for defamation.
Tamara Kay, a <a href="https://sociology.nd.edu/people/tamara-kay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">professor</a> of global affairs and sociology and ardent abortion advocate, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/11/liberal-professor-files-defamation-lawsuit-against-notre-dames-conservative-campus-paper/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a defamation lawsuit on May 22 alleging that the newspaper, the Irish Rover, intentionally made “false and defamatory statements” about her in two articles. 
In a <a href="https://irishrover.net/2023/07/we-will-not-be-silenced/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> released Tuesday, the Rover said Kay’s allegations were “entirely false.” “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 publication said.
The professor sued over two articles in the Irish Rover published in October 2022 and March 2023, both criticizing her promotion of abortion access against the Catholic university’s <a href="https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/institutional-statement-supporting-the-choice-for-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> opposition to abortion and <a href="https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/letter-on-health-care-coverage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contraception</a>. 
Kay alleged that the articles “contained false and defamatory information” and have “a motive of bad faith and a reckless disregard for truth and falsity.” Analysis of the relevant recordings by the Daily Caller reveal that while the Irish Rover’s quotes contained a few “minor inaccuracies,” the articles accurately preserved the substance of the professor’s statements and actions. 
She also claimed that because of the articles, she “has been harassed, threatened, and experienced damage to her residential property” and “has suffered mentally and emotionally.”
Joseph DeRuil, the publication’s former editor, told the Daily Caller that “there is no merit to any of Professor Kay’s claims, so we hope to put this lawsuit behind us as quickly as possible in order to reestablish our focus on promoting Notre Dame’s Catholic identity.”
In response, the Irish Rover filed an Anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the tenured professor’s lawsuit. SLAPP stands for “strategic lawsuits against public participation” and describes lawsuits that seek to silence criticism.
“I am not at all worried about the result of the lawsuit. I know that everything we published is true and written in good faith, so I firmly believe that the lawsuit can only be decided in favor of the Irish Rover,” DeRuil said.
The <a href="https://irishrover.net/2022/10/keough-school-professor-offers-abortion-access-to-student/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October article</a>, written by DeRuil, alleged that Kay and other professors “offer help in obtaining both Plan B ‘morning after’ pills and ‘Plan C’ abortion pills, which are efficacious up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.” Such pills are not available on the pro-life university’s campus due to university policy.
The article cited a post on Kay’s door that said, “This is a SAFE SPACE to get help and information on ALL Healthcare issues and access—confidentially with care and compassion,” and included an encircled “J,” which DeRuil said is a symbol for professors who secretly help students obtain abortions.
The article also presented since-deleted tweets posted by Kay, whose Twitter account is named “Dr. Tamara Kay &#8211; Notre Dame abortion rights expert,” as evidence of her pro-abortion activities. “Will help as a private citizen if you have issues w[ith] access or cost. D[irect] M[essage] me,” the tweet read.
The <a href="https://irishrover.net/2023/03/tamara-kay-explains-herself-to-notre-dame-democrats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March article</a> said that Kay, in a College Democrats event, was asked how she — as an abortion advocate — ended up at Notre Dame, which does not allow student groups who promote abortion or contraceptives. The article claims that she answered that she had reservations about working for Notre Dame, but &#8220;[her] Catholicism is about social justice [and] liberation theology.&#8221; She also stated, “For me, being Catholic means … that you do the right thing even when it’s difficult. …Because if I don’t, who will?”
Kay also denies the article&#8217;s claims that she said, &#8220;If you have that academic freedom, you should use it,&#8221; and, &#8220;She acknowledges that not all the students in the crowd could be as forward in their pro-abortion activities as she is: I can&#8217;t impose that on you&#8230;but I&#8217;m doing me, and you should do you.&#8221;
The University of Notre Dame has not yet addressed the lawsuit. The university’s president, Fr. John Jenkins, <a href="https://ndsmcobserver.com/2022/12/jenkins-disavows-professors-chicago-tribune-op-ed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> a December 2022 letter to the Chicago Tribune disavowing a pro-abortion op-ed Kay wrote and has <a href="https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/letter-on-health-care-coverage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maintained</a> the university’s stance against abortion.

University of Notre Dame Golden Dome

Pro-Abortion Professor Sues Conservative College Newspaper For Defamation

Abortion

American Universities

Free Speech

Indiana

Lawsuit

Notre Dame University

Federal judge Kyle Duncan spoke about the recent debacle he suffered during a talk at Stanford University.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/notre-dame-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Notre Dame</a>&#8216;s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government hosted a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A7W4OiN4Rs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lecture</a> from Duncan Friday. The speech was about his lecture at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stanford-president-law-school-dean-apologize-to-judge-after-verbal-assault-on-campus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stanford Law School</a> earlier this month, when he was shouted down by students and an administrator. Duncan spoke about the consequences and ramifications of free speech that the Stanford debacle highlighted.
“The importance of today’s event I think really needs no explanation,” Notre Dame professor Philip Munoz said while introducing Duncan. “What happened two weeks ago at Stanford Law School raises fundamental questions about free speech and our liberal democracy and how healthy our free speech culture is … especially at our nation’s elite schools.” Munoz also noted that members of the Stanford Federalist Society were watching the lecture virtually.
Duncan began his talk by praising the enduring tradition of free speech, including student protests. “[America is] a great country, where you can harshly criticize federal judges and nothing bad will happen to you,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You might even get praised or promoted. &#8230; The students at Stanford and other elite law schools swim in an ocean of free speech.&#8221;
“But make no mistake, what went on in that classroom on March the ninth had nothing to do with our proud American tradition of free speech,&#8221; Duncan noted. &#8220;It was rather a parody of it.”
“It is not free speech to silence others because you hate them,&#8221; Duncan continued. &#8220;It is not free speech to jeer and heckle a speaker who has been invited to your school so that he can’t deliver a talk. It is not free speech to form a mob and hurl taunts and threats that aren’t worthy of being written on the wall of a public toilet. It is not free speech to pretend to be harmed by words or ideas you disagree with, and then use that feigned harm as a license to deny a speaker the most rudimentary forms of civility.&#8221;
Duncan rebuked the idea that the hecklers were engaging in &#8220;counter speech,&#8221; or participating in the &#8220;marketplace of ideas.&#8221;
&#8220;Counter speech means offering a reasoned response to an argument,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It doesn’t mean screaming ‘Shut up, you scum we hate you,’ at a distance of 12 feet. &#8230; The marketplace of ideas describes a free and fair competition among opposing arguments, with the most compelling one, we hope, emerging on the top. What transpired at Stanford was no marketplace. It was more like a flash mob on a shoplifting spree.”
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Duncan said the mob had no intention of engaging with his ideas. “[T]he mob had no interest in my talk at all,” the judge remarked. “They were there to heckle and to cheer and to shame. Let’s say the quiet part out loud: The mob came to target me because they hate my work and my ideas.”
The protest had nothing to do with free speech, he concluded. “It had everything to do with intimidation. And to be clear, not intimidating me. I’m not intimidated by this. I’m a life-tenured judge. I’m going to go back to my court and keep writing opinions. No, the target of the intimidation was the protesters’ fellow students.&#8221;

Stanford University

‘It Is Not Free Speech To Silence Others’: Judge Kyle Duncan Speaks Out About Mob Crashing His Stanford Law School Talk

'It Is Not Free Speech To Silence Others': Judge Kyle Duncan Speaks Out About Mob Crashing His Stanford Law School Talk

College

Education

Lawyer

Protesters

U.S.

The president of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/notre-dame-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Notre Dame University</a> disavowed two professors after they pushed pro-abortion messaging in a major newspaper.
Writing in the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-abortion-misinformation-health-policy-trap-laws-20221205-ildvxeb66bblfc2qml3xcvsfu4-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago Tribune</a>, Notre Dame professors Tamara Kay and Susan Ostermann defended abortion by attempting to debunk three “lies” told by pro-life advocates and policymakers. The two professors made spurious claims about abortion while leveling accusations at pro-lifers. Notre Dame’s president then wrote a letter to the editor disavowing their comments.
“During the last 50 years, lies and intentional misinformation have dictated abortion health policy in the U.S. Abortion has been demonized and characterized by utter falsities; it has gone under the radar for far too long,” the professors wrote. “Because lies have dictated health policy, it is even more important to correct them now that voters are choosing policy on the state level.”
The first “lie” the professors targeted was the idea that abortion bans prevent abortion. Instead, Kay and Ostermann claimed that abortion bans lead to more abortions, more unwanted pregnancies, and infant and maternal mortality. They offered no evidence to support the first two claims, but pointed to the fact that in El Salvador, which completely banned abortion in 1998, abortion complications are the second leading cause of maternal mortality and the third leading cause among adolescent girls; and that “[h]undreds of women have been jailed for abortion and aggravated homicide.”
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The second “lie” the professors attempted to debunk was that abortions kill babies in the womb. To counter this idea, they claimed that 90% of abortions take place within 10 weeks of conception and fell back on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stacey-abrams-declares-it-is-a-fallacy-that-we-know-exactly-when-a-pregnancy-starts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claim</a> that at such an early stage, the developing embryo is neither a baby nor a fetus. Going further, they claimed that since a transvaginal ultrasound is required to detect the embryo, laws in several states that require an ultrasound before an abortion are immoral, and women who receive them before obtaining an abortion are victims of sexual violence, especially women in minority communities.
Next, Kay and Ostermann took at aim at claims that abortion is dangerous and that legislative exceptions for rape, incest, life-threatening fetal anomalies, or to protect the life of the mother only affect pregnant women. Instead, the professors claimed that abortions are perfectly safe; they then attacked Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which they labeled “anti-abortion rights propaganda sites,” and said that women who don’t abort their babies experience worse health and economic outcomes. They also claimed that doctors are affected by abortion laws because they create obstacles to health care for the woman or for administering abortifacient drugs used for other ailments.
Finally, Kay and Ostermann claimed that women are not having elective abortions up until birth; they instead claimed that abortions after 21 weeks “almost always a matter of life or death, and the pregnancy was very much wanted.”
In a <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/letters/ct-letters-vp-120722-20221206-zpg3tr2p5vaipa22wxhuffkgqa-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter to the editor</a> in the Chicago Tribune Monday, Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins disavowed the two professors, saying their article did not reflect the values of Notre Dame.
&#8220;Tamara Kay and Susan Ostermann are, of course, free to express their opinions on our campus or in any public forum. Because they chose to identify themselves as Notre Dame faculty members, I write to state unequivocally that their essay does not reflect the views and values of the University of Notre Dame in its tone, arguments or assertions.&#8221;
Kay was previously outed by Notre Dame’s conservative Catholic student newspaper, The Irish Rover, for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/professor-at-catholic-notre-dame-university-helps-students-access-abortions-despite-indiana-abortion-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facilitating abortion</a> on campus, in violation of both Catholic doctrine and Indiana state law.

F5DC5EDA-DE52-4BAE-B036-93DAC0A268B9_1_201_a

Notre Dame University President Disavows Professors Who Promoted Abortion In Major Newspaper

Notre Dame University President Disavows Professors Who Defended Abortion In Major Newspaper

Chicago Tribune

Pro-Abortion

Professors

Social Issues

All students at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/notre-dame-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Notre Dame</a> will have a COVID vaccine booster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vaccine-mandate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mandate</a> imposed on them for the 2023-24 school year.
Notre Dame&#8217;s University Health Services announced Tuesday that it was imposing the mandate on all students for the next school year. In order to attend classes on campus, and even remotely, next year, students must receive a booster of the COVID vaccine. Conservatives blasted the university for imposing the policy on students.
Mary Frances Myler, a postgraduate fellow at Notre Dame&#8217;s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, shared a screenshot of the email on Twitter. &#8220;As of today, Notre Dame will require yet ANOTHER round of the vaccine for students,&#8221; Myler wrote. &#8220;The pandemic ended, but the Covid Regime remains fully intact and detached from reality.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
As of today, Notre Dame will require yet ANOTHER round of the vaccine for students. The pandemic ended, but the Covid Regime remains fully intact and detached from reality. <a href="https://t.co/iyjlgsqwdz">pic.twitter.com/iyjlgsqwdz</a>
— Mary Frances Myler (@mfmyler) <a href="https://twitter.com/mfmyler/status/1592322475073105920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
In the email itself, University Health Services Director Edward P. Junkins touted the University&#8217;s low rate of COVID cases and attributed it to the school&#8217;s vaccination rate. &#8220;In an effort to continue this trend and prevent serious illness related to coronavirus, I write today to inform you that the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine is required of all students — undergraduate, graduate, and professional, including students studying or performing research remotely and/or virtually — to enroll in classes for the 2023-24 academic year,&#8221; Junkins stated.
The email encouraged students to receive the booster either before traveling or during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays, or at a University vaccination clinic once students return in January. Once they have received their booster, they must upload documentation to the university system. Students can also receive exemptions, but must apply for one unless they have an existing exemption.
&#8220;As with all required University vaccines, if you fail to complete this requirement or are not granted an exemption, a hold will be placed on your student account, which will prevent you from registering for classes for the fall 2023 semester,&#8221; the email stated. &#8220;All current students have until Wednesday, March 1, 2023 to fulfill the bivalent booster vaccine requirement for the 2023-24 academic year.&#8221;
<a href="https://ndsmcobserver.com/2022/11/university-announces-additional-covid-19-booster-requirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Observer</a>, an independent newspaper covering Notre Dame and her sister colleges, also reported on the email.
The University&#8217;s vaccine mandate comes even as leading experts have shown a high risk of adverse effects. In October, Florida Surgeon General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-surgeon-general-issues-warning-for-mrna-coronavirus-vaccines-fl-will-not-be-silent-on-the-truth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joseph Ladapo</a> announced that the state recommends against giving mRNA COVID vaccines to adult men ages 18 to 39 because of a heightened risk of cardiac-related death, as The Daily Wire reported. In addition, a study from the American College of Cardiology showed that adults, both male and female, experienced higher rates of myocarditis and pericarditis from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/myocarditis-risk-from-covid-19-vaccines-up-to-3-times-higher-from-moderna-than-pfizer-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moderna vaccine</a>.
Conservatives blasted the University in response to the news.
&#8220;Notre Dame requiring bivalent covid booster for all students… including remote students,&#8221; conservative commentator <a href="https://twitter.com/Liz_Wheeler/status/1592755840880373760?s=20&amp;t=Dkrinsnou6yAa-p3-wx8wg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liz Wheeler</a> wrote on Twitter. &#8220;Good Lord, don’t waste your money sending your child to an anti-science institution.&#8221;
&#8220;The fact that it&#8217;s a Catholic school makes this absurd requirement even worse, I say this as a Catholic&#8230;&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1592611941234913280?s=20&amp;t=Slr9bAAWoi_EvxHejcCH1g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christina Pushaw</a>, Rapid Response director for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, replied to Myler&#8217;s tweet.
&#8220;You have to wonder what exactly it is they’re teaching at ND for 58k a year, because clearly it isn’t science,&#8221; digital strategist <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexaTamlyn/status/1592560324431183874?s=20&amp;t=h1kchlAB6tnLtwOxIS2uRg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tamlyn Sheng</a> tweeted.
&#8220;Do you realize now that none of this will eventually &#8216;run out of steam&#8217;?&#8221; venture capitalist <a href="https://twitter.com/RickDeVos/status/1592646383798194176?s=20&amp;t=NFQMtr6QFWlpnYyAj70EMA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rick DeVos</a> commented.
&#8220;Absurd,&#8221; Republican Texas Congressman <a href="https://twitter.com/chiproytx/status/1592590054358421504?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chip Roy</a> wrote.
&#8220;Insane. These poor students,&#8221; podcast host <a href="https://twitter.com/megynkelly/status/1592603639126056960?s=20&amp;t=GJFiOUD0PFPtJfeZkcOPYg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a> tweeted.
&#8220;So much science,&#8221; Maryland state delegate <a href="https://twitter.com/MattMorgan29A/status/1592668784770547712?s=20&amp;t=FZta7Ncqe7e19-4mVRK4Xw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Morgan</a> mocked.

Campus scene University of Notre Dame

‘An Anti-Science Institution’: Long After End Of COVID Pandemic, Notre Dame Imposes Vaccine Mandate On All Students, Even Remote Ones, For 2023-24 School Year

Long After End Of COVID Pandemic, Notre Dame University Imposes Vaccine Mandate On All Students, Even Remote Ones, For 2023-24 School Year

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Health

Twitter

Vaccine Mandate

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/professor-at-catholic-notre-dame-university-helps-students-access-abortions-despite-indiana-abortion-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Notre Dame</a> refused to sponsor an event with Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, but supported events with pro-abortion and pro-prostitution advocates.
Right to Life Michiana, a pro-life activist group, celebrated its <a href="https://www.prolifemichiana.org/upcoming-events" target="_blank" rel="noopener">annual benefit</a> in October; the university is typically the largest sponsor of the event. But according to Notre Dame&#8217;s Catholic conservative student newspaper, <a href="https://irishrover.net/2022/11/11577/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Irish Rover</a>, the school abruptly pulled its money, and prohibited student groups from donating or selling tickets because Shapiro was set to be the featured speaker. But the university hosted a pro-abortion event the same night, and allowed a student group to pay for an event with a &#8220;sex work&#8221; advocate.
&#8220;This year, a university administrator decided that Right to Life Michiana’s invited speaker transgressed the bounds of acceptable pro-life discourse,&#8221; Irish Rover editor emerita Mary Frances Myler reported.
&#8220;Notre Dame eschewed sponsorship, and, as the fiduciary for all university-affiliated groups, forbade those groups from donating to the benefit or purchasing tickets. The stated grounds? Ben Shapiro’s presence conflicts with the Catholic mission component of the university’s charitable giving policy,&#8221; Myler added.
According to the report, on-campus pro-life group Notre Dame Right to Life had already purchased tickets to the benefit, with the approval of the University, but were abruptly halted by the Student Activities Office without reason.
Notre Dame Right to Life President Merlot Fogarty and several members met with Chuck Lamphier, executive director of Notre Dame&#8217;s Office of Mission Engagement and Church Affairs, for answers. Lamphier reportedly told them that &#8220;this speaker is problematic,&#8221; citing a tweet Shapiro wrote in 2010. He said the event itself was problematic, and that &#8220;university dollars [were] not going to go to it.&#8221; He did, however, say the university would continue to support Right to Life Michiana in other ways that did not publicly connect them to Ben Shapiro, The Irish Rover reported.
But the same night as the benefit event took place, Notre Dame&#8217;s Gender Studies Program and Institute on Race and Resilience co-sponsored an <a href="https://genderstudies.nd.edu/events-and-news/events/2022/10/27/post-roe-america-making-intersectional-feminist-sense-of-abortion-bans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event with abortion activists</a>. One of the panelists at the event, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/slaumsu89/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sharon Lau</a>, is currently employed as regional advocacy director for South Bend-based abortion clinic Whole Women’s Health. According to her LinkedIn page, she has previously worked for Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation. Another panelist was Democratic Indiana State Rep. Maureen Bower, who called abortion a &#8220;<a href="https://indianahousedemocrats.org/news-media/bauer-remarks-on-republican-abortion-ban-final-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">basic human right</a>&#8221; during the debate over Indiana&#8217;s state abortion ban in August.
Just days before the event, another student group was allowed to use its money on a speaking fee for an event hosted by the University&#8217;s LGBT Law Forum, entitled “<a href="https://twitter.com/EudaimoniaEsq/status/1580938423732699137?s=20&amp;t=wyWp4aG_CTT6Vj42fwooKA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Decriminalizing Sex Work</a>.” The speaker at that event was <a href="https://cruelvalentine.com/#home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cruel Valentine</a>, a Chicago-based burlesque performer, porn star, and sex worker. &#8220;Valentine lectured about the &#8216;whorearchy,&#8217; protested the stigmatization of sex work, and called for the elimination of legal consequences for individuals who either solicit or provide sexual services in exchange for money,&#8221; The Irish Rover reported. Both events were protected by the University&#8217;s academic freedom policies.
&#8220;[U]niversity administrators weaponized policies to obstruct charitable giving to Right to Life Michiana because the guest speaker tweeted something unpalatable more than a dozen years ago,&#8221; Myler wrote. &#8220;And this apparently makes him worse than the women who perpetuate the lie that abortion is a right, worse than the woman who has dedicated her life to stripping away legal protections for vulnerable people coerced into an exploitative economy inseparable from sex trafficking, human trafficking, pornography, and abuse.&#8221;

Catholic Notre Dame University Pulled Money From Pro-Life Event Over Ben Shapiro Speech. Pro-Abortion, ‘Sex Work’ Events Had No Issues.

Catholic Notre Dame University Pulled Money From Pro-Life Event Over Ben Shapiro Appearance. Pro-Abortion, 'Sex Work' Events Went Off Without A Hitch.

Ben Shapiro

Pro-Life Movement

Sex Workers

A professor at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/notre-dame-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Notre Dame</a> is providing abortion access to students, despite a recently-passed state law banning abortion.
Dr. Tamara Kay, a professor of global affairs and sociology at Notre Dame&#8217;s Keough School of Global Affairs, is one of several professors at the Catholic university offering access to abortifacient drugs and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion</a> services, according to a report from Notre Dame&#8217;s student newspaper, <a href="https://irishrover.net/2022/10/keough-school-professor-offers-abortion-access-to-student/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Irish Rover</a>.
Kay is reportedly helping students obtain abortions, despite Indiana&#8217;s state abortion ban, SB 1, which took effect in September, and the teachings of the Catholic Church, which Kay admits she is in conflict with.
Kay advertised her efforts on a poster outside her office. “This is a SAFE SPACE to get help and information on ALL Healthcare issues and access — confidentially with care and compassion,” the poster read. The poster also included her personal email address, and a capital letter &#8220;J.&#8221; The letter &#8220;J&#8221; is a symbol for several professors who are willing to assist students in accessing abortion services, the paper reported.
“We are here (as private citizens, not representatives of ND) to help you access healthcare when you need it, and we are prepared in every way,&#8221; Kay wrote in a since-deleted Twitter post. &#8220;Look for the &#8216;J&#8217;, Spread the word to students!”
According to The Irish Rover, the several professors help students get access to &#8220;Plan B&#8221; contraceptives, as well as &#8220;Plan C,&#8221; drugs used in <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/the-abortion-pill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">medication abortions</a> up to 11 weeks of pregnancy.
Plan B contraceptives are still legal in Indiana, but they are not provided by University Health Services. But under SB 1, medication abortions can only be conducted by a licensed physician at a hospital or surgical center; the physician must perform a physical exam, inform the patient about the drug, and the woman must take the drug in the presence of the physician, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/indiana-state-senate-passes-abortion-ban-first-since-dobbs-decision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously reported</a>.
Kay conducted much of her advocacy on her <a href="https://twitter.com/BuildSolidarity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">personal Twitter</a> account, for which she previously used the handle, “Dr. Tamara Kay — Notre Dame abortion rights expert.&#8221; But her Twitter posts facilitating abortion have since been scrubbed, and she has changed her Twitter handle to &#8220;Dr. Tamara Kay: Abortion Rights &amp; Policy Scholar.&#8221; Her biography section also disassociates from Notre Dame.
“I don&#8217;t speak for my employer (duh!),&#8221; Kay&#8217;s bio reads. However, her page still includes posts from Abortion Finder, an abortion services directory, and the abortion advocacy group Catholics for Choice.
Kay also admitted at a panel discussion on abortion bans in September that her efforts to facilitate abortion conflict with the doctrine of the Catholic Church. &#8220;For me, abortion is a policy issue,&#8221; Kay said, via the Irish Rover. &#8220;And yes, my view runs afoul of Church teaching, but in other areas, my positions are perfectly aligned [with the Church].&#8221;
However, she claims that her actions have been cleared by Notre Dame. “Oh, I am doing that as a private citizen, so that’s been cleared by the university,&#8221; Kay told The Irish Rover. &#8220;I talked to the dean and have also spoken to ND Media about policies.”
Kay&#8217;s actions come against the backdrop of Indiana SB 1, which was signed into law by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb on August 5, and went into effect on September 15. However, the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-indiana-government-and-politics-c428ac15c5dded0043026e172db3a057" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Supreme Court</a> issued a temporary injunction Wednesday while it considers legal challenges to the law.

Professor At Catholic Notre Dame University Helps Students Access Abortions Despite Indiana Abortion Ban

Former Notre Dame football star Paul Duncan died last week at age 35, the athlete&#8217;s wife announced.
Duncan played as an offensive lineman for the Fighting Irish from 2005-09, and then briefly for the NFL on the Denver Broncos, ND Insider <a href="https://www.ndinsider.com/story/sports/football/2022/07/20/paul-duncan-notre-dame-football-offensive-lineman-dead/65378301007/">reported</a>. He went into cardiac arrest on July 15, Duncan&#8217;s wife revealed. The couple share two children.
&#8220;Yesterday, Friday July 15th, Paul went into cardiac arrest while on a run in our neighborhood,&#8221; Ellen Duncan shared via Instagram. &#8220;Today he was pronounced brain dead. We will have a medical examination to understand cause of death.&#8221;
&#8220;His body will be donated to people in need of organs and to medical research,&#8221; Ellen said. &#8220;Thank you for your prayers and support.&#8221;
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Another former NFL player, wide receiver Charles Johnson, recently passed, too.
The former New England Patriot was found dead in his hotel room this week, reports said Wednesday. The athlete&#8217;s cause of death is currently unknown. He was 50 years old at the time of his passing.
Tragically, the NFL has lost a string of active and former players this year. It was revealed this month that former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/dallas-cowboys">Dallas Cowboys</a> player <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-former-nfl-star-running-back-marion-barber-found-dead-by-police">Marion Barber III</a> died of an accidental heat stroke, the Collin County medical examiner’s office <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/07/11/marion-barber-iii-died-due-to-heat-stroke-officials-say/?adid=social-twa">said</a>.
Barber, 38, was found unresponsive in his Frisco, Texas, apartment on June 1, after police were called to make a welfare check.
Some had speculated that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sudden-death-the-surge-of-nfl-tragedies-and-whats-behind-it">NFL</a> star suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly known as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dead-nfl-superstars-brain-reveals-telltale-signs-of-cte">CTE</a>. The late player’s father, Marion Barber II, publicly <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article262097117.html">said</a> that his son did not want his brain donated for CTE research. Before his death, Barber was <a href="https://thelandryhat.com/2022/06/13/cowboys-marion-barber-death-details-cte-research/">reportedly</a> hospitalized for mental health concerns on two occasions.
In another tragedy, the Baltimore Ravens&#8217; 26-year-old linebacker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/26-year-old-nfl-player-jaylon-ferguson-dead">Jaylon Ferguson</a> passed in June.
According to an autopsy report, Ferguson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/baltimore-ravens-lb-jaylon-fergusons-cause-of-death-revealed">overdosed</a> on cocaine and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fentanyl">fentanyl</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sudden-death-the-surge-of-nfl-tragedies-and-whats-behind-it">Sudden Death: The Surge Of NFL Tragedies, And What’s Behind It</a>

Denver Broncos 2010 Headshots

Former NFL Player, Notre Dame Star Dead At 35; Wife Issues Statement

Former NFL Player, Notre Dame Star Paul Duncan Dead At 35; Wife Issues Statement

Death

Football

Sports

The University of Notre Dame has changed the lyrics of its fight song to include &#8220;daughters,&#8221; the Catholic university announced on Friday.
The &#8220;Notre Dame Victory March&#8221; update celebrates the 50th anniversary of the university&#8217;s move to admit female undergraduate students.
&#8220;The success Notre Dame enjoys has been shaped by the extraordinary leadership and contributions of the women who have been and are a part of the Notre Dame community — beginning with the four Holy Cross sisters who arrived in the Indiana wilderness in 1843, to those who lead, teach, learn, minister and work here today,&#8221; University President Rev. John Jenkins said in a <a href="https://news.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-commemorates-50th-anniversary-of-admission-of-undergraduate-women-with-redesigned-campus-entry-circle-change-to-lyrics-in-renowned-fight-song/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> to Notre Dame News.
&#8220;On this occasion of the anniversary of the admission of undergraduate women in 1972, we celebrate the invaluable contributions of women as students and graduates. The re-imaging of the Main Circle will be a tribute at the heart of our campus to the ways in which these women have inspired, led and enriched us,&#8221; he added.
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It&#39;s official ☘️
Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame, Wake up the echoes cheering her name, Send a volley cheer on high, Shake down the thunder from the sky What though the odds be great or small Old Notre Dame will win over all, While her loyal sons &amp; DAUGHTERS MARCH ON to victory <a href="https://t.co/aheZD7cQt1">pic.twitter.com/aheZD7cQt1</a>
&mdash; University of Notre Dame (@NotreDame) <a href="https://twitter.com/NotreDame/status/1532694258213343232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The report added that the original song, written by Rev. Michael Shea and his brother John in 1908, includes the lines:
Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame.
Wake up the echoes cheering her name.
Send a volley cheer on high.
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
What though the odds be great or small,
Old Notre Dame will win over all.
While her loyal sons are marching
Onward to victory.
Going forward, “Notre Dame Victory March” will be sung as follows:
While her loyal sons and daughters
March on to victory.
The song has become one of the most legendary tunes in college sports. It has been played for more than a century at the school&#8217;s campus.
&#8220;The song has been played on the school&#8217;s campus since 1909, making its debut at athletic events a decade later. Former band director Joseph Casasanta rearranged the lyrics in 1928 to the version most famous today, going unchanged until the university unveiled the new version last week,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/notre-dame-fight-song-lyrics-daughters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&nbsp;

Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fight Song Adds ‘Daughters’ To Lyrics

Notre Dame Fight Song Adds 'Daughters' To Lyrics

Women

A group of students, faculty, and alumni at Notre Dame University sent a letter asking the campus dining leadership to ban Chick-fil-A from the Indiana school&#8217;s retail dining master plan.
The open <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lSfJPnZBSAx3Oe0hfX43O215jBtI9QlIiQZLDI6d7eA/edit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">letter</a> (full text below), which was signed by approximately 180 students, faculty, and alumni, follows <a href="https://ndsmcobserver.com/2021/07/keep-chick-fila-away/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a 720-word letter</a> that two undergraduates sent to campus newspaper The Observer, listing their grievances against the fast food chain.
&#8220;The letter writers, Tilly Keeven-Glascock and Joey Jegier, accused Chick-fil-A of donating millions to &#8216;queerphobic groups,&#8217; which they said include the nonprofit Fellowship of Christian Athletes. And they objected to owner Dan Cathy’s personal donations to organizations like the National Christian Charitable Foundation, which they alleged &#8216;funds hate groups,'&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/notre-dame-chick-fil-a" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>.
&#8220;Keeven-Glascock and Jegier also claimed that because the restaurant chain gets its food from industrialized farming, it’s bad for the environment, &#8216;deplorable&#8217; and places a &#8216;burden&#8217; on &#8216;marginalized communities,'&#8221; Fox News added. &#8220;&#8216;North America has an obsession with meat like no other country on Earth and it is helping destroy the planet,&#8217; wrote the duo, a university senior and junior. (North America is a continent.)&#8221;
Read the full letter to the campus dining leadership below:
<blockquote>Dear Campus Dining,
Before we get to our request, we wish to thank the Campus Dining leadership for your work creating a quality dining experience for students during a global pandemic. You went above-and-beyond this past year, adapting the dining halls to meet CDC and University guidelines, providing impressive themed dinners, and making an excellent vegan line in the dining halls.
As you continue to improve Notre Dame’s on-campus dining, we wish to make our voices heard on an important issue. On May 12, the Campus Dining Instagram announced that leadership is considering the fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A as part of a new retail dining master plan. While a large portion of the student body would approve of this decision, we hope to show that many of us oppose the addition of Chick-fil-A.
We believe, as we wrote in The Observer, that there are a multitude of reasons to oppose Chick-fil-A: its anti-LGBTQ+ activism, reliance on animal agriculture, and lack of accommodations for students with special dietary needs, to name a few. Bringing Chick-fil-A to campus would run contrary to Notre Dame’s commitment to inclusion and desire to create good in the world. So, we ask that you remove Chick-fil-A from your considerations and instead consider other additions to our retail dining.
Students at other universities, such as NYU and Northeastern, have made headlines in their attempts to block Chick-fil-A. We have no plans for such a large-scale disruption; rather, we wish to resolve this concern before it transforms into a larger controversy. Thank you for considering our request, and we hope that this is the starter of wider dialogue on how to fulfill students’ desires while also considering the ethics of what we consume.</blockquote>
In a similar letter sent last week, Democratic state legislators in New York <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ny-democrats-move-to-ban-chick-fil-a-from-rest-stops-over" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">urged</a> New York State Thruway Authority Matthew Driscoll to ban Chick-fil-A from state rest stops because of the restaurant&#8217;s donations to allegedly anti-LGBT organizations.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-skip-notre-dame-commencement-amid-furor-over-policies-that-defy-church-teachings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Biden To Skip Notre Dame Commencement Amid Furor Over Policies That Defy Church Teachings</a>

Notre Dame and Chick-fil-A

Notre Dame Students, Faculty, Alumni Complain About Plans To Put Chick-Fil-A On Campus

Chick-fil-A

LGBTQ

President Joe Biden on Sunday will break a 20-year tradition of a president or vice president delivering a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame during the first year of a new presidency.
Sources at the White House claimed the school had invited Biden to speak, but said the nation&#8217;s second Roman Catholic president is unable to attend because of a scheduling conflict, according to the <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247622/biden-will-not-address-notre-dame-commencement-was-invited-by-the-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Catholic News Agency</a> (CNA). Jimmy Dunne, who is a finance executive and trustee of the university, will address the graduates instead.
Former President George W. Bush delivered a commencement address at the school in 2001, followed by former President Barack Obama in 2009 and former Vice President Mike Pence in 2017.
Biden&#8217;s scheduling conflict comes as a <a href="https://sycamoretrust.org/take-action/petitions-open-letters/dont-invite-biden-to-speak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">petition</a> circulates among the Catholic university demanding that Notre Dame President Fr. John I. Jenkins neither invite the president nor give him an honorary degree because of the many policies he supports in open defiance of Church teaching. More than 4,300 students, alumni, and other members of the community signed the petition as of Sunday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fr. Jenkins should not invite <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBiden</a> to speak at commencement and receive an honorary degree from <a href="https://twitter.com/NotreDame?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NotreDame</a>. Add your signature at <a href="https://t.co/CHatBRMDc4">https://t.co/CHatBRMDc4</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCatholicND?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoCatholicND</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/sycamoretrust?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sycamoretrust</a>
&mdash; sycamoretrust (@sycamoretrust) <a href="https://twitter.com/sycamoretrust/status/1362921555282526208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Citing the injunction of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which said, &#8220;Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles,&#8221; the petition said in part:
<blockquote>Biden is such a person writ large. He rejects Church teachings on abortion, marriage, sex and gender and is hostile to religious liberty. He embraces the most pro-abortion and anti-religious liberty public policy program in history. The case against honoring him is immeasurably stronger than it was against honoring President Obama, an action that alienated countless Catholics and brought upon Notre Dame the harsh criticism of 83 cardinals, archbishops and bishops.</blockquote>
The petition went on to detail specific policies Biden supports that promote abortion, contraception, homosexuality, transgender behavior, and the repeal of religious exemptions for institutions that oppose such things.
&#8220;For the nation’s foremost Catholic university to honor a person with such an agenda would scream scandal,&#8221; the petition added.
Biden and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians face potential rebuke from the USCCB when they convene for their annual meeting in June. As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-unique-problem-u-s-catholic-bishops-may-demand-biden-other-pro-abortion-politicians-stop-taking-communion" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>:
<blockquote>During their next annual meeting, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine will be drafting a document that will clarify their position regarding the longstanding question of how to handle Catholic politicians in open defiance of Church teaching on abortion, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-government-and-politics-religion-22e0d1ba299fe8693013036e3cc85c81" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Associated Press</a>.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, who is chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has publicly and repeatedly rebuked Biden for supporting abortion, going so far as to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/archbishop-of-kansas-city-joe-biden-should-stop-defining-himself-as-a-devout-catholic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">say</a> the president “should stop defining himself as a devout Catholic.”
“Because President Biden is Catholic, it presents a unique problem for us,” Naumann told the AP. “It can create confusion. … How can he say he’s a devout Catholic and he’s doing these things that are contrary to the church’s teaching?”</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/moral-evil-pelosis-archbishop-demands-pro-abortion-catholic-politicians-to-refrain-from-communion" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘Moral Evil’: Pelosi’s Archbishop Demands Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians Refrain From Communion</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-defends-very-catholic-biden-against-far-right-bishops-set-to-rebuke-him-over-abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WaPo Defends ‘Very Catholic’ Biden Against ‘Far-Right’ Bishops Set To Rebuke Him Over Abortion</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/source-of-discord-vatican-urges-caution-to-u-s-bishops-considering-formal-rebuke-of-pro-abortion-catholic-politicians" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘Source Of Discord’: Vatican Urges Caution To U.S. Bishops Considering Formal Rebuke Of Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians</a>

Joe Biden and Notre Dame

Biden To Skip Notre Dame Commencement Amid Furor Over Policies That Defy Church Teachings

Catholicism

Homosexuality

Joe Biden

Religion

The University of Notre Dame joined a growing list of universities that are requiring students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to return to campus for classes in the fall.
In a <a href="https://here.nd.edu/news/student-vaccination-requirement-for-fall-2021/">letter</a> posted on the university&#8217;s website, leaders of the school explained the reason for the change in health protocol, including details about the school&#8217;s new on-campus vaccination site that opened on April 8 for members of the Notre Dame community. The site was done through a partnership with the Indiana Department of Health, according to the announcement.
&#8220;While the site was established primarily for students, we believe that we have enough vaccine to accommodate any member of our campus community who seeks to be vaccinated,&#8221; the letter says. &#8220;We urge everyone who is not already vaccinated to sign up this week to receive the first of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, with the goal of fully vaccinating as many members of our campus community as possible before the end of the spring semester.&#8221;
Noting how important a high rate of vaccination is for communities to be successful against COVID-19, the letter goes on to discuss the decision to require students to be vaccinated in order to come back to campus in the fall.
It explains, &#8220;Notre Dame will require all students – undergraduate, graduate, and professional – to be fully vaccinated as a condition of enrollment for the 2021–22 academic year,&#8221; adding that exemptions will be given for medical and religious reasons.
&#8220;We will also offer a way to be vaccinated for those who are unable to obtain a vaccination prior to arriving for the fall semester or whose vaccination is not recognized by the state of Indiana. For students currently on campus, if you have not yet been vaccinated, we strongly urge you to be vaccinated at our on-campus site in the days and weeks ahead,&#8221; it says.
The school also has a new <a href="https://here.nd.edu/health-safety/covid-19-vaccination-information/documenting-your-vaccination/">resource</a> for students to add their vaccination documentation to a site in order for the university to keep track of how many students have been vaccinated.
If 90% of the students are vaccinated with at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the school says that it can ease up on certain <a href="https://here.nd.edu/news/fr-jenkins-to-students-participation-in-campus-vaccination/">restrictions,</a> including:
<ul>
<li>Allow inter-hall visits in our residence hall common lounges</li>
<li>Raise the maximum number at informal gatherings outdoors from 10 to 25</li>
<li>Eliminate the requirement to wear masks outdoors on campus for gatherings of 25 or less</li>
<li>Restore some outdoor recreational opportunities, such as basketball and volleyball </li>
</ul>
If 90% of the students become fully vaccinated, the school says it will take the following steps:
<ul>
<li>Dispensing with weekly surveillance testing for those who have been fully vaccinated</li>
<li>Not requiring those fully vaccinated to go through exit testing before leaving at the end of the semester</li>
<li>Providing more outdoor activities for our graduates as we move toward Senior Week and Commencement weekend </li>
</ul>
The letter is signed by the president Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Marie Lynn Miranda, the provost, and Shannon Cullinan, the executive vice president.

University Of Notre Dame To Require COVID-19 Vaccinations For Students

Universities

A blind former law school student of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett spoke in support of the Notre Dame law professor ahead of Senate confirmation hearings set to begin on Monday.
Laura Wolk, a graduate of Notre Dame Law School, testified to Barrett’s intelligence and character in a Sunday video from The Daily Signal along with several other young women who know Barrett personally as her former clerks and students. Wolk, who is blind, said that Barrett went beyond her role as a professor to help Wolk succeed.
“I had the privilege of having then-Professor Barrett at Notre Dame Law School for two classes,” Wolk began. “There are still many barriers that a blind person faces in terms of accessing information. I couldn’t read my textbooks. I couldn’t take notes. I was really struggling to keep up in class. It was a really terrifying experience.”
Wolk went to Barrett for help with her classes, expecting practical advice on campus resources for students with learning disabilities. At the meeting, Wolk said that Barrett took a personal interest in her student’s struggles and kicked off a relationship that lasted through Wolk’s law school career.
“When I went to go talk to her, I found myself just talking to her not only about my technology problems, but also about all of the other struggles that I was having as a blind person at Notre Dame,” Wolk said. “Professor Barrett, she was very kind. She just allowed me to talk and to say my piece and to get out all of my emotions and, at the end of it, she just very quietly but completely matter-of-factly told me, ‘This is not your problem anymore. It’s my problem.’”
“Professor Barrett, you know, she just proved to be this presence where she would occasionally check in on me as things were proceeding, asking me how I was doing,” Wolk continued. “She was willing to be there as a support even when it had absolutely nothing to do with her role as being a professor for me.”
Wolk went on to describe how Barrett had celebrated with her after Wolk received a clerkship on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and how Barrett modelled the type of attorney and person that Wolk aims to be.
“When I received an offer to clerk on the D.C. Circuit, I didn’t immediately get a chance to tell her. She just kind of pulled me aside after class and asked, ‘Have you heard any updates about the clerkship?’ and I told her that I had gotten it,” Wolk said. “She just sort of gasped and reached down and grabbed my hand and was just so emotive and expressive of how happy she was for me.”
“I don’t want to be the type of lawyer who is just cutthroat. I don’t think that serves our profession well. Professor Barrett is someone who has showed me and has showed countless other young women that it is possible to be a very effective lawyer, judge, professor, counselor of any kind and still be compassionate and still understand that no matter what you’re doing, it affects people,” Wolk concluded.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Meet the REAL Amy Coney Barrett" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DtRRx8rrfpc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Amy Coney Barrett

WATCH: ‘Not Your Problem Anymore’: How Amy Coney Barrett Helped A Blind Student Through Law School

Supreme Court

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