The Irish Rover / Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // An Indiana appeals court unanimously ruled in favor of Notre Dame’s student newspaper, the Irish Rover, Jan. 30, dismissing a 2023 defamation suit a pro-abortion professor at the university brought against the newspaper.
CatholicVote previously reported that Dr. Tamara Kay, a professor of global affairs and sociology, sued the Irish Rover after it published two articles containing pro-abortion comments that she made during a school-sponsored panel and a talk to the Notre Dame Democrats group.
>>READ: Notre Dame Student Newspaper Sued by Faculty Member, Plans to File Motion to Dismiss Case<<
Kay alleged that the Irish Rover “falsely attributed” statements to her that “are defamatory per se and establish a willful intent to portray [her] in a negative and disparaging manner,” CatholicVote reported in July 2023.
The Irish Rover filed a motion to dismiss the case under Indiana’s Anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statute, which allows dismissal of lawsuits that misuse courts to retaliate against someone or intimidate them for exercising their free speech rights. A superior court dismissed the lawsuit in January 2024, but Kay appealed the ruling.
However, the Court of Appeals of Indiana recently struck down the lawsuit. According to the Irish Rover, the judges wrote in their unanimous opinion that the newspaper published the articles “in good faith and with reasonable basis in law and fact.”
“The Irish Rover based its information on reliable sources, particularly as the source for most of the information was gleaned from Dr. Kay’s own statements, her social media, and publications,” the judges continued, according to the Irish Rover. The judges referenced several of Kay’s posts on X, which were explicitly pro-abortion.
The Irish Rover additionally referenced a statement from 2023 that was made when the newspaper filed a motion to dismiss.
“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 Irish Rover stated in response to Kay’s lawsuit. “The Rover will not apologize for just and truthful reporting that helps Our Lady’s University stay true to its Catholic mission.”
Following the appeals court’s decision, the Irish Rover stated, “Close to two years later, the Indiana Court of Appeals has reaffirmed this response.”
