IIRL Fellows
Our team of supportive, credentialed scholars, clinicians, attorneys, and policymakers are committed to expanding knowledge and awareness of the impact of reproductive loss. Each has made significant contributions and we are honored by their affiliation with us.
Helen Alvaré
Helen Alvaré is the Robert A. Levy Endowed Chair in Law and Liberty at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, where she teaches Family Law, Law and Religion, and Property Law. She publishes on matters concerning marriage, parenting, non-marital households, and the First Amendment religion clauses. She is faculty advisor to the law school’s Civil Rights Law Journal, and the Latino/a Law Student Association, a Member of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life (Vatican City), a board member of Catholic Relief Services, a member of the Executive Committee of the AALS’ Section on Law and Religion, and an ABC news consultant. She cooperates with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations as a speaker and a delegate to various United Nations conferences concerning women and the family.
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In addition to her books, and her publications in law reviews and other academic journals, Professor Alvaré publishes regularly in news outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and CNN.com. She also speaks at academic and professional conferences in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Australia.
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Prior to joining the faculty of Scalia Law, Professor Alvaré taught at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America; represented the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops before legislative bodies, academic audiences and the media; and was a litigation attorney for the Philadelphia law firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young.
Professor Alvaré received her law degree from Cornell University School of Law and her master’s degree in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of America.
Jennifer Bauwens
Dr. Jennifer Bauwens is the Director of the Center for Family Studies at the Family Research Council, where she researches and advocates for policies that will best serve the mental health and well-being of families and communities. She has testified before state legislatures and congressional hearings on mental health topics and has been interviewed by multiple national media outlets.
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Jennifer has a Ph.D. in clinical social work from New York University. She has worked extensively as a clinician providing trauma-focused treatment to children and adults who have experienced interpersonal and collective traumas, and as an educator providing violence prevention training in both national and international contexts.
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Additionally, Dr. Bauwens has taught at Rutgers University and Princeton Seminary, and she has been an editorial consultant for and published in peer-reviewed journals focused on clinical practice and traumatic stress.
Byron Calhoun
Byron Calhoun, MD, FACOG, FACS, FASAM, MBA, is a Professor and Vice-Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the College of Medicine at West Virginia University, Charleston, West Virginia. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology with board certification in General Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the sub-specialty of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. He is also board-certified in Addiction Medicine. He is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine. He graduated from the University of Iowa Medical School with an MD in 1983.
Dr. Calhoun completed his residency in OB/GYN at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1987 and finished a Fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University in 1989. Dr. Calhoun has authored 105 peer-reviewed articles in the obstetric and gynecologic literature, presented over 100 scientific papers, participated in more than 40 research projects, and published numerous articles on medical aspects of obstetrics and gynecology. He edited and published a monograph (March 2016) dealing with addictions in women’s health titled Tobacco Cessation and Substance Abuse Treatment in Women’s Healthcare with Springer publications.
Patricia Casey
Professor Patricia Casey was Professor of Psychiatry at UCD since 1992 until taking early retirement in 2016. She was Ireland’s first female Professor of psychiatry. She has published over 130 peer review papers and is the author of 13 books. She continues to publish scientific papers, books and deliver academic talking internationally. Published in 2019, Adjustment Disorder from Controversy to Clinical Practice, was shortlisted for the BMA (London) book of the year.
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She has recently co-edited Clinical Topics in Teaching Psychiatry: A Guide for Clinicians (2023). Edited by Sarah Huline-Dickens and Patricia Casey. Cambridge University Royal College of Psychiatrists, London. She is currently completing a Cochrane Systematic Review entitled Pharmacological Interventions for Adjustment disorders in Adults. She works in the Hermitage Hospital, Dublin as a Consultant in Liaison Psychiatry and also engages in medico-legal practice as an expert witness, in both criminal and civil cases in Ireland, UK, Australia and USA. She was the editor of BJ Psych. Advances, published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in London for 12 years until Dec. 2022.
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She is developing a training programme for peer reviewers of scientific papers at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, London. She wrote a weekly column in the Irish Independent until 2018, and now contributes to other publications, dealing with current social, religious and mental health issues. She is a frequent contributor to radio and TV current affairs. She is visiting Profess to Notre Dame University, Sydney, Australia.
She has been a performer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival since 2021.
Medico-legal Practice:
In addition to her clinical work as a Consultant Psychiatrist, she has a busy medico-legal practice and have been involved in cases in Northern and Southern Ireland, Britain, Australia and the United States. She conducts work in civil and criminal cases, acting for the Defense in criminal cases, and for Plaintiff and Defendants in civil cases.
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She also provides assessments for Tusla (the Child Protection Agency in Ireland) and for various professional bodies such as the Medical Council (the licensing body for doctors practicing in Ireland). She provides reports for tribunals such as the Hepatitis C Tribunal. Her expertise includes Fitness to be Tried, Insanity and Diminished Responsibility Defenses, pre-sentencing reports, personal injury, medical negligence, civil annulments, human rights and capacity assessments.
Recent Extracurricular Work:
She represented the “Yes” side in a debate at the Royal College of psychiatrists London in October 2024 for the motion “Assisted Suicide should NOT be allowed for psychiatric Disorders alone” prior to the debate in the House of Commons following the introduction of a new bill in the UK Houses of Parliament to legalise Assisted Suicide.
She is a founder member of Beir Bua (Be Victorious) Education, along with psychotherapist Stella O’Malley (Founder of Genspect) offering evidence based, non-politicised talks to parents, teachers and students in Irish Schools concerning “hot-button” topics relevant today. These include resilience, substance misuse, mental health, gender identity, suicide/ self harm etc.
Teresa Stanton Collett
Teresa Collett, J.D., is professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where she serves as director of the school's Prolife Center. Collett is a well-known advocate for the protection of human life and the family. She teaches Property, Constitutional Litigation, Bioethics and has traditionally taught a course in Catholic Social Thought and the United Nations.
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Collett has published numerous legal articles and is the co-author of a law casebook on professional responsibility and co-editor of a collection of essays exploring “catholic” and “Catholic” perspectives on American law. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as before legislative committees in several states.
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She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as before legislative committees in several states. In 2022 she served as a Fulbright Scholar to the University of the Andes, Santiago, Chile where she consulted on Chilean Constitutional Convention and lectured on constitutional protection of religious liberty and parental rights in education. She has participated in numerous sessions of the U.N. Conference on the Status of Women as a representative of various NGOs.
Rocio Gomez
Rocío Gómez is a dedicated attorney specializing in human rights advocacy, particularly in the areas of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, as well as Global Health and Human Rights. With a strong background in legal research and collaboration, she has successfully organized seminars and online programs aimed at empowering individuals and promoting social justice. Rocío is known for her excellent communication and organizational skills, which have enabled her to engage in meaningful discussions at international summits.
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She holds a diploma in Human Rights and has experience serving as a legal intern, where she supported various initiatives against human rights violations. Currently, she is the founder of Life Analytics, an organization dedicated to defending human life through data and strategic legal actions. Proficient in both English and Spanish, she is committed to fostering human rights through education and advocacy.
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Miriam Grossman
Miriam Grossman, MD is board certified in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. Her current practice focuses on youth who have distress about their sex, and their parents. She is a Senior Fellow at DoNoHarmMedicine.org. The author of five books, including You’re Teaching My Child WHAT?, and Lost in Trans Nation, Dr. Grossman's work exposing the origin and hazards of the sexuality and gender industry has been translated into eleven languages.
She has testified in Congress and lectured at the British House of Lords and the United Nations. She is featured in Daily Wire’s What Is A Woman?, Fox Nation’s The Miseducation of America, and many other documentaries. Her expert psychiatric opinion is sought for witness testimony and court reports.
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Visit her at miriamgrossmanmd.com
Aaron Kheriaty
Aaron Kheriaty, MD, is a physician specializing in psychiatry and author of three books, including most recently, The New Abnormal: The Rise of the Biomedical Security State. He is a Fellow & Director of the Program in Bioethics and American Democracy at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. For many years he was Professor of Psychiatry at UCI School of Medicine and Director of the Medical Ethics Program at UCI Health, where he chaired the ethics committee.
Dr. Kheriaty has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Federalist, Compact, Tablet, and First Things. On matters of public policy and healthcare he has testified at the California Senate and the United States Senate. Dr. Kheriaty is a plaintiff in the landmark free speech case Missouri v. Biden, which is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. For his work challenging government censorship, the journalist Matt Taibbi has called him “the most ambitious theorist of the censorship-industrial age.”
Angela Lanfranchi
Angela Lanfranchi, MD FACS is a breast cancer surgeon who practiced in New Jersey from 1984-2017. A 1975 graduate of Georgetown School of Medicine, she is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and certified by the American Board of Surgery. She was surgical co-director of the sanofi Breast Care Center at the Steeplechase Cancer Center in Somerville, New Jersey for 10 years. She is co-founder and president of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, www.bcpinstitute.org a 501(c) 3 non-profit charitable corporation that has as its mission to educate lay and professional communities in the methods of risk reduction and prevention of breast cancer through research, publications and lectures.
She was named a Castle Connelly Medical Ltd. New Jersey “Top Doc” for Women’s Health in Breast Surgery for the last 10 years she practiced. She is the published author of articles on the physiology and epidemiology of abortion breast cancer and hormonal contraceptive risks and informed consent. In her work with the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, over the past 25 years she has traveled nationally and internationally to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, China, Korea, India and South Africa speaking at medical schools, hospitals, universities, cancer organizations, local and national governmental bodies and the United Nations about breast cancer risks, including its association with induced abortion and hormonal contraceptives.
Jennifer Morse
Dr. Morse is the founder of The Ruth Institute, an interfaith international coalition to defend the family and build a Civilization of Love.
Dr. Morse was a campaign spokeswoman for California’s winning Proposition 8 campaign, defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. She has authored or co-authored six books and spoken around the globe. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Polish and Chuukese, the native language of the Micronesian Islands.
Her latest book is The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies are Destroying Lives and Why the Church was Right Along. (See below for a complete list of Dr. Morse’s books.)
She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Rochester and taught economics at Yale and George Mason Universities for 15 years.
Dr. Morse was named one of the “Catholic Stars of 2013,” on a list that included Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI. That same year, the Southern Poverty Law Center added the Ruth Institute to their “hate map,” as an “Anti-LGBT” hate group.
Dr. Morse and her husband are parents of an adopted child, a birth child, a goddaughter and were foster parents for San Diego County to eight foster children. In 2015, Dr. Morse and her husband relocated to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where the work of the Ruth Institute continues.
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Complete list of Dr. Morse’s books:
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Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village (2001)
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Smart Sex: Finding Lifelong Love in a Hookup World (2005)
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101 Tips for a Happier Marriage (2013) coauthored with Betsy Kerekes.
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The Sexual Revolution and Its Victims (2015)
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101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person (2016) coauthored with Betsy Kerekes.
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The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies are Destroying Lives and Why the Church was Right Along. (2018)
Andrea Mrozek
Andrea’s career has spanned journalism and think tanks in Europe and Canada. Immediately prior to joining Cardus, she was Executive Director of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada where she wrote and spoke about marriage, child care and women’s issues. She is the author of a number of influential pieces including Private Choices, Public Costs: How Failing Families Cost Us All about the national public costs of family breakdown, The Cost of a Free Lunch: The Real Costs of the Pascal Early Learning Plan for Ontario and Look Before you Leap: The Real Costs and Complexities of National Daycare. While she has costed out aspects of family life, her driving interest is not about money, but rather in ensuring parents realize their full potential as the true experts in the art and vocation of stewarding their own family life.
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Her opinion pieces have appeared in newspapers across Canada, and she’s a frequent guest on TV and radio shows.
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Born in Toronto, Andrea has a Master of Arts in History from the University of Toronto. She lives in Ottawa with her husband and daughter, whose entry on the scene late in her life has taught her immeasurably more about family and work than anything prior.
Stephen Sammut
Dr. Stephen Sammut received a B.Pharm from Monash University in Victoria, Australia and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Malta in Malta, Europe and is a Full Professor of Psychology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH. His research interests lie in the utilization of behavioral models and combined experimental techniques to investigate the interaction between the endocrine, immune and nervous systems and their role in CNS development, functioning and psychopathology. His scientific career has given him the unique experience of having a leading role in the original setting-up and management of laboratories and a broad experience in a number of animal models of psychiatric disorders including depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and drug abuse. Moreover, he has utilized various in vivo and in vitrotechniques including electrophysiology, electrochemistry, reverse-microdialysis, individually or in combination with each other, in order to investigate questions related to behavior, cellular activity, neurotransmitter release, and how these are altered in psychiatric diseases in brain regions of interest.
He has authored and co-authored several papers in leading scientific journals related to the research he has conducted, including his groundbreaking studies describing an animal model addressing the behavioral and physiological impact of drug-induced abortion and abortion-pill reversal. He has also presented his work at various conferences and institutions nationally and internationally. Dr. Sammut established and is the principal investigator of his laboratory leading research efforts focused on two primary areas: 1) research geared at investigating the neurological, biological and behavioral consequences of drug-induced abortion in an animal model, 2) pre-clinical research addressing the abortion-pill-reversal. Additionally, and in line with his research interest in psychopathology, Dr. Sammut also conducts research addressing mental health and related behaviors in the university student population.
Ingrid Skop
Ingrid Skop, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. has been a practicing board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist in San Antonio, Texas for over 30 years. She received her Bachelor of Science in physiology from Oklahoma State University, her medical doctorate from Washington University School of Medicine, and completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Skop is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a lifetime member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She currently practices with OB Hospitalist Group and is also Vice President and Director of Medical Affairs for the Charlotte Lozier Institute. She serves as medical director for AWC Centers in San Antonio, on the medical advisory board of Save the Storks, on the board of Seton Home maternity shelter, and as a member of the Texas Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Review Committee. She has published peer reviewed articles focusing on abortion safety, abortion drugs and maternal mortality, and has testified to state and federal legislatures and judicial courts. Dr. Skop is married to a physician and is the proud mother of two sons and a daughter.
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Dr. Skop has always been passionate about caring for mothers and their children in holistic ways. She understands that many women are in crisis due to family breakdown, domestic violence, lack of emotional and material support, and poor psychological and physical health, which place their pregnancies and children’s lives at risk. She seeks to dig beneath the surface to understand these issues better, to focus resources and interventions upstream to prevent these crises. When crises do occur, she hopes to provide interventions that will truly enhance the lives and well-being of American women and their families.
Paul Sullins
The Rev. Donald Paul Sullins, Ph.D., taught sociology at Catholic University for 20 years before retiring in 2015 to devote himself to full-time research. He has written four books and over 150 journal articles, book chapters and research reports on issues of faith and culture, including in Social Forces, American Journal of Sociology, Demography, Sociology of Religion, Southern Medical Journal and JAMA Psychiatry.
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Dr. Sullins' work focuses on the application of quantitative methods to pose fresh theoretical questions or insights on questions of cultural import from a faith-informed perspective. His study topics include Catholic priests, particularly clergy sex abuse, married priests, and priest demography; the conjugal family; and emotional problems among post-abortive women and children with same-sex parents.
Since 2015, he has given dozens of keynote addresses, lectures and presentations at scholarly and popular conferences in Europe and the United States. Dr. Sullins is Senior Research Associate of the Ruth Institute, Director of the Leo Initiative for Catholic Social Research, and Fellow of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies. He serves on the Board of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists, where he is also chaplain. Formerly Episcopalian, Fr. Sullins is a married Catholic priest with an inter-racial family of three children, two adopted.
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