Mary Rice Hasson

Mary Rice Hasson, JD, is the Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., where she co-founded and directs the Person and Identity Project, an initiative that promotes the truth of the human person and counters gender ideology.

An attorney and policy expert, Mary advises religious leaders, faith-based institutions, legislators, policymakers, and national and international NGOs on various issues, with a particular focus on gender ideology, parental rights, and religious liberty.

Mary serves as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth and the Committee on Religious Liberty. She has been a three-time keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and, in 2025, Pope Leo awarded her the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for distinguished service to the Catholic Church.

Mary is the co-author of several books on education, and her writing appears in national media and academic publications. She speaks frequently at national conferences, universities, and faith-based events, and appears regularly on Catholic media.

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School, Mary is married to Seamus Hasson, and they are parents of seven grown children and grandparents of ten.

Mary is currently a Visiting Fellow for the Veritas Center at Franciscan University.

A note about the Person and Identity Project (PIP): The Person and Identity Project equips individuals, schools, and churches to promote an authentic vision of the human person and to counter gender ideology.  PIP experts offer custom presentations, consultations, toolkits, and resources to help clergy, educators, and families navigate today’s cultural challenges with truth and charity. See personandidentity.com

Books and Book Chapters:

Chapter author, “Sexual Identity, Gender Ideology, and Religious Freedom: The Tug of War over ‘Who We Are,’ – Schools as Battlegrounds,” in the Handbook of Church and State, Shannon Holzer, ed. (New York, NY: Palgrave, expected publication fall 2022)

Co-author, with Theresa Farnan, PhD, of Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child From Public School Before It’s Too Late (Regnery: 2018)

Chapter author, “What About Sex: Habits of Heart for a Fulfilling Sexual Relationship and a Happy Marriage,” in Venus and Virtue: Celebrating Sex and Seeking Sanctification (2018).

Editor, Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Feminism, Complementarity, and the Church (Our Sunday Visitor: 2015)

Co-author, with Michele Hill, of the report, What Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception (EPPC 2012)

Co-author, with Kimberly Hahn of Catholic Education: Homeward Bound (Ignatius Press: 1996).

Other publications:

See the most recent publications at the bottom of the page.

Appellate brief in the 9^th Circuit supporting challenge to Washington law effectively mandating “affirmation only” therapy for minors, December 16, 2021.

“Bringing the Christ of Christmas to a Lost Generation,” Legatus Magazine, Dec 1, 2021

 “Erasing Females in Language and Law,” Journal of Christian Legal Thought, Christian Legal Society, Oct. 21, 2021.

“Is It Emotional Abuse For Parents To Deny A Child’s Transgender Claims?” National Review Online, October 17, 2021.

“Time for an Exodus from Public Schools?” Our Catholic Mission, Cardinal Newman Society, October 8, 2021.

“The Equality Act and the End of Females,” Newsweek, February 24, 2021.

“The Pope is Catholic After All,” co-author with Tim Busch, The Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2020.

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