February 12, 2026
University Drops From ‘B’ to ‘F’ Grade on SFLA’s Mid-Year Report Card for Christian Schools
“Elevating an abortion radical to lead at one of the premier Catholic schools in the nation represents a failure on the part of Notre Dame’s leadership,” said Students for Life President and Catholic Kristan Hawkins. “With that lapse in judgement, Notre Dame’s grade on our Christian School monitoring project drops to F.”
- Notre Dame joins other allegedly Catholic universities in professing faith while maintaining ties to the abortion industry.
- The school’s new “F” grade will stand until the pro-abortion professor is fired.
- But for some good news: Pope Leo XIV’s alma mater, Villanova University, went from an “F” to a “B” for cutting ties to the abortion industry, since the report’s release and grassroots engagement began in January.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (02-12-2026) – Students for Life of America (SFLA) President Kristan Hawkins called for Professor Susan Ostermann to be fired immediately from Notre Dame, where she has been elevated to head the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. The abortion radical, who has written repeatedly on her love of abortion, stands in direct opposition to the stated values of Notre Dame, which proclaims on the university’s website: “Consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church on such issues as abortion, research involving human embryos, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other related life issues, the University of Notre Dame recognizes and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.”
Such a blatant disregard for church teaching has led SFLA to release a “2026 Mid-Year Report Card” for Notre Dame, part of the ongoing Christian Schools Report, which is released annually by SFLA’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement (IPA). The report grades Christian schools on how well they live up to their professed faith when it comes to respect for Life. Notre Dame originally received a “B” grade in the 2025 report. With the elevation of Ostermann, Notre Dame’s grade has been dropped to an “F.”
SFLA will rally support for Ostermann’s firing, through outreach to the pro-life and Catholic community: Take Action Here.
“This is a disaster for this Catholic school, and good people are leaving Notre Dame as a result of this fiasco,” noted Hawkins. “Students feel betrayed, and their parents will as well, as they invested in a quality, Catholic education. The choice to put someone pro-abortion into leadership represents an absolute failure to practice with the church preaches and to train up the next generation of Catholic leadership.”
READ MORE FROM HAWKINS ON THE MISTAKE OF ELEVATING OSTERMANN AT THE DAILY WIRE: Notre Dame Touts Faith But Elevates Abortion Advocate
In January, the school announced it would be appointing Ostermann to head its Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. During her tenure at Notre Dame, Ostermann has:
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- Written 11 op-eds describing laws limiting abortion as racist and white supremacist
- Served as a member of the Population Council, an organization that worked with the Chinese government to promote abortion, contraception, and the “One-Child Policy”
- Described pregnancy resource centers as “anti-abortion rights propaganda sites”
- Labeled laws limiting abortion as “violence against women”
The Notre Dame Right to Life Executive Board has also called for Ostermann’s removal. In a letter, the board noted to the school community that Osterman’s “work as a member of the Population Council, an organization that collaborated with the Chinese government to promote abortion, contraception and the enforcement of the one-child policy, violates the dignity of human life. These and other actions render Ostermann unfit to serve as head of the Liu Institute … The claim that Ostermann’s personal beliefs will have no influence on her work as head of the Liu Institute is erroneous and naïve.”
Hawkins noted that schools can raise their grades and many already have, including Pope Leo XIV’s alma mater, Villanova University, featured when the report first released.
READ MORE AT FOX: Students for Life report finds massive uptick in Christian colleges’ support for abortion, Planned Parenthood
Notre Dame joins a litany of other professing Catholic colleges that have received “F” grades on the Christian Schools report. Catholic schools still ranked “F” include:
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- Boston College – F
- Loyola Marymount University – F
- Sacred Heart University (CT) – F
- Santa Clara University (CA) – F
- Seattle University – F
- St. Catherine University – F
- University of Detroit Mercy – F
- University of San Diego – F
For these schools, the path forward is simple: Either stop supporting abortion, abortion vendors, abortion events and advocates, or stop claiming to be Catholic. For Notre Dame itself, the first step is clear: Fire Ostermann immediately—and then do some serious evaluation of how professors are hired and promoted.
For more information, or to set up an interview with SFLA students or staff, contact [email protected]
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The Pro-Life Generation (PLG) is an umbrella organization encompassing the most-cutting edge engagement opportunities for a Vote Pro-Life First Community. PLG includes Students for Life Action (SFLAction), a 501c4, along with its 501c3 sister organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA), that together make up the nation’s largest, pro-life youth organization, managing a grassroots political and policy operation engaging Americans of all ages but with a special emphasis on the largest segment of voters — the Youth Vote. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, PLG/SFLA/SFLAction serves more than 1,400 groups on middle, high school, college, medical, and law school campuses in all 50 states. Our team has more conversations with this generation targeted by the abortion lobby than any other pro-life operation in the world, each week reaching more than 4 million across social media platforms and averaging 1.3 million video views. In addition to SFLA/SFLAction, PLG leads multiple initiatives to lead and serve the future of the pro-life movement including the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities, Standing With You, and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement . Over more than 17 years, PLG CEO Kristan Hawkins has grown the operation into a nearly $20M organization, now preparing for an abortion-free America.