Unofficial club promotes abortion, birth control
Irish for Reproductive Health (I4RH), an unofficial student-led organization that operates on Notre Dame’s campus, distributes emergency contraceptives, condoms, and pregnancy tests to students free of charge. The group advertises its activities on social media and through representatives in Notre Dame residence halls.
In an interview with the Rover, a spokesperson for I4RH described the club’s mission “to ensure that the South Bend community is equipped with the resources and information necessary to make safe, healthy decisions about their sexual, reproductive, and overall health.” The group hands out “sexual health resources, including condoms, emergency contraceptives, and pregnancy tests” to students.
The I4RH website invites visitors to request such resources by contacting their “dorm rep,” messaging the I4RH Instagram profile, or filling out an online form. The website offers two forms: one for Plan B contraceptives and one for condoms. The Plan B form promises “same-day or next-day delivery” and complete confidentiality, along with guidance on when students should use the contraceptive. The second form asks respondents, “Approximately how many condoms do you need? No judgment! Ask for as much as you want.” The form also asks respondents what they will use the condoms for, with two options provided: “Personal Use” and “To Distribute.”
Although abortion is illegal in Indiana as of August 21, 2023, I4RH’s website advises, “You can leave Indiana and get an abortion out of state.” The site lists several abortion providers in Michigan and Illinois, including Planned Parenthood.
The group’s Instagram promotes “office hours” on the first of every month in Hesburgh Library. Videos advertising the office hours show paper bags with a variety of condoms, emergency contraceptive pills, candy, and stickers saying “safe sex like a champion today.” The club has also been seen distributing to students on North Quad. When asked how often they host events on campus, I4RH responded, “We are here as often as needed, so our level of activity depends on the needs of our community.”
Despite frequently hosting events on campus, I4RH told the Rover that it is “not affiliated with the university in any official capacity, nor [does it] intend to be.” However, I4RH stated that it has “a wide network of support across the university, including students inspired by I4RH’s mission to protect reproductive and sexual health.” I4RH expressed that it felt a “very warm reception from the community that [it] serves.”
When asked about where the club finds funding, I4RH told the Rover, “We are proud to partner with a number of national advocacy groups and sexual health focused companies,” naming Advocates for Youth, the Condom Collective, and Plan B, among others. I4RH members receive “specialized trainings” from Students for Reproductive Justice and Catholics for Choice.
The University of Notre Dame espouses the Catholic Church’s teachings on premarital sex in the du Lac guide for student conduct, saying, “The University embraces the Catholic Church’s teaching that a genuine and complete expression of love through sex requires a commitment to a total living and sharing together of two persons in marriage. Consequently, students who engage in sexual union outside of marriage may be subject to referral to the University Conduct Process.”
University Health Services also mentions Catholic teaching on sexuality on its website, saying, “While the University calls its unmarried students to practice sexual abstinence, it remains committed to caring for the whole student, providing medical counsel and services to students who are sexually active.”
When asked whether the club reflects Catholic values, I4RH told the Rover, “I4RH is not a Catholic organization, but we do fit into Catholic values. We are making space for the many voices at Notre Dame that do not subscribe to conservative Catholic doctrine on human sexuality.”
The representative continued, “In fact, the majority of U.S. Catholics agree with I4RH on the importance of access to reproductive healthcare and consider the use of contraception to be a matter of personal conscience,” citing a survey by Pew Research Center. “As current members of the Notre Dame community, we believe human dignity means affording respect to all people to make moral choices about their own lives. Thus, the goals of I4RH are consonant with education of free human beings, a central task of institutions of higher learning, including Catholic universities.”
One senior member of the club echoed this sentiment in a comment to the Rover, saying, “ I understand our university’s Catholic identity, but that doesn’t mean we should be ignorant to the needs of students. We should not sacrifice our health for lofty ideals around sex and abstinence that everyone knows students do not uphold. … This is the time in our lives to explore our sexual identities, become confident in our bodies, and find ourselves in relationships with one another.”
The student also expressed dissatisfaction with Notre Dame’s refusal to provide contraceptives, continuing, “The university’s willful indifference to the sexual health of students is evidence of their lack of care for students; instead, prioritizing ideals that reinforce purity culture and a rigid set of gender norms.”
One official student club that seeks to address questions about pregnancy on campus is Notre Dame Right to Life (RtL). RtL Chaplain Father Terrence Ehrman, C.S.C. told the Rover, “What the [I4RH] is doing goes against the goodness and truth of who the human person is and what marriage is.”
Fr. Ehrman disagreed with the club’s use of the term “health” in its name, saying, “Fertility is the healthy condition of adult men and women, and to intentionally frustrate or remove fertility is unhealthy and counter to the nature of the human person. On a more severe level, Jesus warns about the consequences of leading others into sin.”
Haley Garecht is a junior studying political science, constitutional studies, and Irish studies. She will be studying abroad in the spring, and she hopes that the Editor-in-Chief will allow her to act as the Rover’s first overseas correspondent. To write in support of her new position, please email her at hgarecht@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Irish for Reproductive Health
Subscribe to the Irish Rover here.
Donate to the Irish Rover here.
