Mary Rice Hasson

Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow

Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., 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 equips parents and faith-based institutions to promote the truth about the human person and counter gender ideology. She is also currently a Visiting Fellow for the Veritas Center at Franciscan University. An attorney and policy expert, Mary has been a three-time keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and 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.

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Mary Rice Hasson, J.D., 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 equips parents and faith-based institutions to promote the truth about the human person and counter gender ideology. She is also currently a Visiting Fellow for the Veritas Center at Franciscan University. An attorney and policy expert, Mary has been a three-time keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and 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 speaks frequently at national conferences, universities, and in dioceses across the country and provides expert advice to legislators, policymakers, and NGOs on issues related to gender ideology.

The co-author of several books on education, Mary’s writing appears regularly in national media and academic publications.

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 seven.

A note about the Person and Identity Project (PIP): The Person and Identity Project aims to equip parents and faith-based institutions with the facts, resources, and expertise to promote an authentic vision of the human person and to counter gender ideology.  PIP experts speak, write, and conduct workshops on gender ideology for churches, schools, parents, and faith-based organizations. See personandidentity.com


A note about the Catholic Women’s Forum: The Catholic Women’s Forum takes its inspiration from Pope St. John Paul II, who wrote that women have “the task of assuring the moral dimension of culture…a culture worthy of the person,” (Christifideles Laici, 51). The Catholic Women’s Forum provides a network for Catholic women scholars seeking fellowship and to influence the culture, and offers a forum for Catholic women to share faith, inspiration, and resources. See catholicwomensforum.org.


Recent publications:

Appellate brief in the 9th 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.


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 reportWhat Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception (EPPC 2012)

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


Selected Presentations and Interviews:

[See also the videos collected on the Person and Identity Project website]

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EPPC Scholars Submit Comment Supporting HHS’s Proposed Removal of Sex-Rejecting Procedures from Essential Health Benefits 

Eric Kniffin, Jamie Bryan Hall, Mary Rice Hasson, Rachel N. Morrison

On Friday, April 11, 2025, EPPC scholars Eric Kniffin, Rachel N. Morrison, Mary Rice Hasson, and Jamie Bryan Hall submitted…

Articles

PDF / April 15, 2025

Trump Ends Government Promotion of Gender Ideology and Child Mutilation

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson, Theresa Farnan

Trump’s ban on gender transitioning has turned the tide on an indefensible cult,” writes Telegraph columnist Suzanne Moore. “The pretense that sex can…

Articles

First Things / January 31, 2025

PIP on “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal…

Mary Rice Hasson, Theresa Farnan

PIP welcomes the Trump Administration’s “Day One” Executive Order “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal…

Articles

The Person and Identity Project / January 21, 2025

EPPC Scholars File Supreme Court Amicus Brief Supporting Challenge to Colorado Law Effectively Mandating “Gender…

Mary Rice Hasson, Ryan T. Anderson

On Monday, December 9, 2024, EPPC Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow Mary Rice Hasson and EPPC President Ryan T. Anderson, in…

Articles

PDF / December 12, 2024

EPPC Scholars Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Law Protecting Minors from Harmful “Gender Transitions”

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson

On October 16, 2024, EPPC scholars filed two amicus briefs in United States v. Skrmetti, in support of Tennessee’s right…

Articles

PDF / October 22, 2024

EPPC Files Amicus Briefs in Supreme Court Supporting States’ Right to Limit Insurance Coverage for…

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson

On August 28 and 29, 2024, EPPC scholars Eric Kniffin and Mary Hasson filed amicus briefs in Crouch v. Anderson and Folwell v….

Articles

 

Why is a “Transgender” Identity Even Plausible?

Mary Rice Hasson

Gender ideology is a false anthropology and preposterous belief system that is being “baked into” our assumptions, judgments, and relationships.

Articles

The Catholic World Report / July 31, 2024

EPPC Amicus Brief Asks Court to Revisit Catholic Hospital’s Refusal to Provide “Gender Transition” Coverage 

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson

On Monday, June 10, 2024, the Ethics and Public Policy Center filed an amicus brief in the Eleventh Circuit Court…

Articles

 

EPPC Amicus Brief Defends Catholic Hospital’s Refusal to Provide “Gender Transition” Coverage 

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson

On Friday, April 19, 2024, the Ethics and Public Policy Center filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit Court…

Articles

PDF / June 3, 2024

EPPC Scholars Submit Comment Opposing HHS Proposed Rule Requiring “Affirmation” of a Foster Child’s “LGBTQI+…

Mary Rice Hasson, Rachel N. Morrison

These premises are not only false but are harmful to children in foster care and will undermine religious freedom and parental rights far beyond the foster care context.

PDF / November 29, 2023

There Is Nothing Worth Saving in America’s Public Schools

Mary Rice Hasson, Theresa Farnan

The heart of their mission is to indoctrinate children into being atheistic gender ideologues.

Articles

The American Spectator / June 23, 2023

EPPC Scholars Submit Comments Opposing ED’s Proposed Gender Identity Mandate in Athletics

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson, Rachel N. Morrison

On May 15, 2023, EPPC scholars Rachel N. Morrison, Mary Rice Hasson, and Eric Kniffin submitted a public comment opposing…

PDF / May 15, 2023