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 educates and equips parents and faith-based institutions to promote the truth about the human person and counter gender ideology. An attorney and policy expert, Mary has been a three-time keynote speaker for the Holy See at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, on topics related to women, education, and gender ideology. She serves as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family, Life and Youth. Recently, Mary was honored to receive the Christifideles Laici award at the 2023 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

Read full bio.

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 educates and equips parents and faith-based institutions to promote the truth about the human person and counter gender ideology. An attorney and policy expert, Mary has been a three-time keynote speaker for the Holy See at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, on topics related to women, education, and gender ideology. She serves as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family, Life and Youth. Recently, Mary was honored to receive the Christifideles Laici award at the 2023 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

She speaks frequently at national conferences, universities, and in dioceses across the country, and has testified before the U.S. Senate, in state legislatures, and the Australian parliament on parents’ rights and transgender issues.

The co-author of several books on education, Mary’s writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, National Review, First Things, the National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor, among others.

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 four.


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]

Close bio

AUDIO: The Truth Behind Transgenderism

March 31, 2023 | EDIFY podcast

On March 31, 2023, EPPC’s Mary Hasson of the Person and Identity Project joined the EDIFY podcast to discuss “The…

VIDEO: Born in the Wrong Body?

March 22, 2023 | EDIFY

On March 22, 2023, EPPC scholar Mary Hasson joined EDIFY to talk about the transgender phenomena of our current culture….

AUDIO: Mary Hasson Talks Gender Ideology

March 16, 2023 | Conversations with Consequences

 Mary Hasson joins breaking down what’s really at stake when it comes to gender ideology infiltrating our schools–and what Catholics…

VIDEO: 2023 Christifidelis Award Recipient

March 14, 2023 | National Catholic Prayer Breakfast | Washington D.C.

On Tuesday March 14, 2023, Mary Rice Hasson was a Christifidelis Award Recipient at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast for…

Mary Hasson quoted in “Church must accompany people, tell truth about gender ideology”

March 9, 2023 | Tennessee Register

Gender ideology has permeated the culture, rewriting society’s understanding of the differences of the sexes, and leading to a sharp…

VIDEO: Mary Hasson Releases Miniseries on Transgenderism

October 24, 2022 | EWTN

In October 2022, EPPC Fellow Mary Hasson debuted her five-part miniseries, “The Transgender Movement: What Catholics Need to Know,” on…

VIDEO: Mary Hasson on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins

July 22, 2022 | Washington Watch

On July 22, 2022, EPPC Fellow Mary Hasson outlined the threat same-sex marriage poses to religious freedom with Joseph Blackholm…

VIDEO: Mary Hasson on the Role of Education in Advancing Religious Freedom

May 5, 2022 | Religious Freedom Institute

On May 5, Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow Mary Rice Hasson addressed the Religious Freedom Institute on the role of education…

AUDIO: Mary Rice Hasson Discusses Florida’s Parental Rights Law on Relevant Radio

March 31, 2022 | Relevant Radio - Morning Air

On March 31, 2022, EPPC Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow Mary Rice Hasson appeared on Relevant Radio’s “Morning Air” to discuss…

AUDIO: Mary Rice Hasson on Transgenderism and Truth

March 7, 2022 | Inside CatholicPhilly.com

On March 7, 2022, Kate O’Beirne Fellow Mary Rice Hasson joined the Inside CatholicPhilly.com podcast to discuss the transgender phenomenon…

AUDIO: Mary Rice Hasson on Pope Francis’ Call to Care for the Elderly

February 25, 2022 | The Drew Mariani Show

On February 25, 2022, EPPC Kate O’Beirne Fellow Mary Rice Hasson appeared on The Drew Mariani Show to unpack the…

AUDIO: Mary Rice Hasson on Gender Ideology and Its Influence on School Culture

December 16, 2021 | “Religious Freedom Matters” podcast

On December 16, 2021, EPPC Kate O’Beirne Fellow Mary Rice Hasson, Director of EPPC’s Catholic Women’s Forum and co-founder of…