Panel to explore pro-life feminism

Author: William Schmitt

Main Building And Basilica. Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame.
Main Building And Basilica. Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame.

Is pro-life feminism an oxymoron? A panel discussion on Wednesday (April 10) invites guest speakers, students and the public to engage this question.

The event, titled “Pro-Life Feminism” and co-sponsored by the McGrath Institute for Church Life and Notre Dame’s Office of Campus Ministry, will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Midfield Commons in the Duncan Student Center. Panel members will engage the Catholic intellectual tradition and the secular debate at the intersection of the feminist and pro-life movements.

Featured speakers include Abigail Favale, George Fox University; Kristin M. Collier, University of Michigan Medical School; and Charlie Camosy, Fordham University. From their various fields of expertise, these panelists will respond to some of the most common objections to, and prospects for, pro-life feminism.

“Opponents of pro-life feminism often claim that being pro-life means being anti-woman,” said Jessica Keating, program director of the Notre Dame Office of Life and Human Dignity. “This panel will explore the validity of this belief in light of academic research.”

“We are excited to be working at the intersection of pro-life and feminist concerns. We want to encourage the exploration of actual and potential synergies,” said John Cavadini, McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life.

The public is invited to bring or order food for this free-of-charge lunchtime conversation.
 

Contact: Amy North, program director of communications, McGrath Institute for Church Life, 574-631-2894, anorth1@nd.edu