Academic who backs abortion and transgenderism reappointed as 'strategic professor'
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The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has sparked scandal after it paid an undisclosed sum of AU$1.1 million to fire the newly-appointed pro-abortion and pro-transgender dean of its Thomas More Law School, and reassign her as a "strategic professor."
Pro-life students at ACU launched a petition in March demanding a review of Prof. Kate Galloway's appointment in January, complaining that the academic’s pro-abortion stance was clear from her "numerous public and easily accessible publications and research."
Galloway's views on "abortion and the right to life" are in "direct violation of ACU's mission – the pursuit of knowledge, respect for human dignity, and promotion of the common good within the Catholic intellectual tradition," the petition stated.
The pro-life students identified comments such as "Abortion is a touchstone for social, ethical, and religious norms" in Galloway's writings, noting that such beliefs "undermine our university's commitment to upholding human dignity in all its forms."
INSULTING CATHOLICS
An ACU alumnus also demanded the revocation of Galloway's position "with immediate effect" arguing that her appointment was "insulting to the many students … who chose the school for its Catholic identity," the Times Higher Education magazine reported Monday.
ACU appointed Professor Kate Galloway, an expert in property law and legal education, as dean of its prestigious law school despite information about her position on the sanctity of life available in the public domain.
"She submitted a CV with the articles on it. Someone just needed to read it," Dr. Leah Kauffman, the National Treasury Employees Union branch president at ACU, said.
Souls and Liberty found that Galloway also holds anti-Catholic views on transgenderism and believes that pro-lifers should have their freedom of speech and movement restricted by not allowing them to enter buffer zones around abortion mills.
LATE-TERM ABORTION
In a 2018 "Submission to Queensland Law Reform Commission: Review of Termination of Pregnancy Laws," Galloway and her co-author Jemima McGrath do not recommend any "gestational limits" for abortion.
Instead, the authors argue that "these are medical and clinical questions best dealt with through evidence-based clinical guidelines that inform medical practice, and not through the criminal law."
Galloway allows for limited conscientious objection from medical professionals, requiring doctors to provide abortion "regardless if there is no other geographically proximate practitioner" and to provide abortion "regardless in the case of emergency."
"Failing to enact a safe access zone allows for circumstances that will prevent women from exercising their bodily autonomy," Galloway writes, noting that the buffer zones should curtail any behavior "designed to deter a woman" from seeking abortion.
Galloway specifies: "This submission recognizes diversity in gender amongst those capable of becoming pregnant. While this submission uses 'woman' throughout, it acknowledges the experiences of those who do not identify as female."
"This submission focuses on the empowerment of the self-determination of women to make decisions about their reproductive health as a hallmark of their equality as citizens," the professor adds.
"This opposition is recognized in arguments about the gestational stage permitted for termination, which assume the priority of a fetus over the woman," Galloway writes, signaling her willingness to recommend even late-term abortion.
ACU FUDGE
Despite being now aware fully of Galloway's position on abortion, ACU has insisted that she "was not dismissed as dean of law," but was instead reassigned as "Strategic Professor, Law and Justice," as "part of ACU's strategy to enhance the profile" of the law school and "build its global reputation for impactful research," The Australian reported.
"While only in the role of dean of the Thomas More Law School for a short time, Professor Galloway quickly demonstrated her integrity and professionalism and this, combined with her proven research record made her well placed to take up this new strategic role," ACU said.
However, Times Higher Education cites multiple sources that ACU vice-chancellor Zlatko Skrbis wrote to Galloway stating that the university "wishes to explore with you the possibility of reaching a mutually acceptable agreement with you for the termination of [your] contract."
"Please let me reaffirm … how sorry I am that circumstances have arisen which have led to the very difficult discussions over the last few days," the letter added. In a separate document, ACU describes part of the payment to Galloway as a "separation payment."
FINANCIAL MELTDOWN
"What is now known," The Australian reported, "is that Galloway was paid an extraordinary sum of money – in excess of $1m – to discontinue in the role." It adds: "This was a payment made at a time when the university was reporting financial losses of $35m and cutting academic staff as a consequence."
"What isn't known is whether the ACU's governing board of directors – The Senate – was even made aware of these payments, and it remains for others to consider whether this debacle comes anywhere close to breaching the slew of protections that safeguard academic freedoms," the newspaper reported.
"As a Catholic university, we draw our inspiration from the 'heart of the Church,' building on the ancient tradition which gave rise to the first universities in medieval Europe. This Catholic intellectual tradition proposes an integrated spiritual and philosophical approach to the most enduring questions of human life," ACU claims on its website.
"As a Catholic university, we are stewards of our Catholic tradition and our unique Australian heritage. Our mission defines who we are, what we do and the outcomes we strive to achieve for our students and staff," the university boasts.
ACU further insists that the university's "mission informs everything we do, including when we attract and hire," which is "why we look for people who want to advance ACU's Catholic mission and values and to contribute to our distinctive intellectual life."
Editor's note: Please continue to pray for the sanctity of life.
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Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.
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