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{{Short description|American electrical engineer and anti-abortion activist}}
{{Neutrality}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David C. Reardon
'''David C. Reardon''', director of the Elliot Institute, is a biomedical ethicist specializing in research and education related to the effects of ] on women,<ref>". (2000). ''Afterabortion.org.'' Retrieved February 11, 2007.</ref> as well as a ] advocate in favor of strict barriers to abortion.<ref>, by Michael Kranish. Published in the '']'' on ] ]; accessed ] ].</ref>
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'''David C. Reardon''' is an American electrical engineer and ]. He is the founder of the Elliot Institute, an anti-abortion advocacy group,<ref name="globe"/> and the author of a number of articles and books on ]. Reardon was described in '']'' as the "Moses" of the "post-abortion movement".<ref name="nytimes">, by ]. Published in the '']'' on January 21, 2007; accessed November 27, 2007.</ref>
==The Elliot Institute==
Reardon is the director of the Elliot Institute which, according to its web site, is "engaged in research and educational activities related to the effects of eugenics, abortion, population control, and sexual attitudes and practices on individuals and society at large".<ref></ref>


==Biography==
The Elliot Institute has endorsed model legislation regarding ] provisions for women considering abortion and bills that would increase the liablity of physicians who provide abortions that are deemed "unsafe or unnecessary".<ref></ref> The Elliot Institute is also leading an effort to build a coaliton of groups to advocate for laws that would create a preemptive ban on ].<ref></ref>
A graduate of the ] department of ],<ref name="pra"/> Reardon began researching the effects of abortion in the mid-1980s. Reardon subsequently received a ] in ] from ], an ] correspondence school.<ref name="pra">, by Pam Chamberlain. Published in ''The Public Eye'' by ], Summer 2006. Accessed February 17, 2008.</ref><ref name="mooney">Mooney, Chris. (October 1, 2004). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404034430/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0410.mooney.html |date=April 4, 2008 }}. ''].'' Retrieved February 11, 2007.</ref><ref name="pbsnow1">, show #329, aired on ] on July 20, 2007; accessed November 27, 2007. In the transcript, PBS senior correspondent Maria Hinojosa describes Reardon: "With a PhD from an unaccredited online institution, he's turned out dozens of studies that supposedly prove abortion is dangerous to women's mental health."</ref>


Reardon describes his position on abortion as both "]" (believing a human fetus is deserving of protection) and "pro-woman" and "anti-abortion" (believing abortion hurts women).<ref>David C. Reardon. Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation (1996) Acorn Books. See especially {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023032809/http://www.afterabortion.info/MAR/IGCHAP2.htm |date=2007-10-23 }} where Reardon discusses the terms pro-life, pro-woman, anti-abortion, pro-choice and pro-abortion.</ref> In a 2002 article in ''Ethics & Medicine'', Reardon argued that in order to be effective, anti-abortion efforts had to present "a moral vision that consistently demonstrates just as much concern for women as for their unborn children."<ref name="ethicsmed">{{cite journal |author=Reardon DC |title=A defense of the neglected rhetorical strategy (NRS) |journal=Ethics Med |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=23–32 |year=2002 |pmid=14700036 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4004/is_200207/ai_n9119576}} Full text in pdf </ref> Reardon appealed to the anti-abortion movement to support his "pro-woman/pro-life" strategy, writing:
==Academic credentials==
Reardon received his ] from ],<ref name="mooney">Mooney, Chris. (October 1, 2004). . ''Washington Monthly.'' Retrieved February 11, 2007.</ref><ref name="pbsnow1">, show #329, aired on ] on ] ]; accessed ] ]. In the transcript, PBS senior correspondent Maria Hinojosa describes Reardon: "With a PhD from an unaccredited online institution, he's turned out dozens of studies that supposedly prove abortion is dangerous to women's mental health."</ref> an ] ] school.<ref>Authoritative databases of accredited US institutions exist at the ] () and the ] (); neither lists PWU as of November 2007. Several states specifically list Pacific Western University as an unaccredited institution, including:
*
*
*
*</ref>


<blockquote>For the purpose of passing restrictive laws to protect women from unwanted and/or dangerous abortions, it does not matter if people have a pro-life view. The ambivalent majority of people who are willing to tolerate abortion in "some cases" are very likely to support informed consent legislation and abortion clinic regulations, for example, because these proposals are consistent with their desire to protect women. In some cases, it is not even necessary to convince people of abortion's dangers. It is sufficient to simply raise enough doubts about abortion that they will refuse to actively oppose the proposed anti-abortion initiative.<ref name="ethicsmed"/></blockquote>
==Studies and books on abortion==
Reardon has written a number of journal articles and books on what he asserts are the harmful sequelae of abortion. In 1985, Reardon surveyed members of a group called Women Exploited by Abortion, and found high rates of ]s, ], and ] attempts. Reardon described this finding as proof of a link between abortion and psychological harm. However, his findings were dismissed as non-generalizable by expert panels and the medical community, due to the ] introduced by surveying only women from a pro-life organization who already felt "exploited" by their abortion.<ref name="nytimes">, by ]. Published in the '']'' on ] ]; accessed ] ].</ref>


==Media coverage==
Subsequently, Reardon has published several ] studies on the physical and psychological effects of abortion. His studies have consistently reported a ] between abortion and death,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Reardon DC, Ney PG, Scheuren F, Cougle J, Coleman PK, Strahan TW |title=Deaths associated with pregnancy outcome: a record linkage study of low income women |journal=South. Med. J. |volume=95 |issue=8 |pages=834–41 |year=2002 |pmid=12190217 |doi=}}</ref> psychiatric hospitalization,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Reardon DC, Cougle JR, Rue VM, Shuping MW, Coleman PK, Ney PG |title=Psychiatric admissions of low-income women following abortion and childbirth |journal=CMAJ |volume=168 |issue=10 |pages=1253–6 |year=2003 |pmid=12743066 |doi=}}</ref> substance abuse, depression,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cougle JR, Reardon DC, Coleman PK |title=Depression associated with abortion and childbirth: a long-term analysis of the NLSY cohort |journal=Med. Sci. Monit. |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=CR105–12 |year=2003 |pmid=12709667 |doi=}}</ref> anxiety,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cougle JR, Reardon DC, Coleman PK |title=Generalized anxiety following unintended pregnancies resolved through childbirth and abortion: a cohort study of the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth |journal=J Anxiety Disord |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=137–42 |year=2005 |pmid=15488373 |doi=10.1016/j.janxdis.2003.12.003}}</ref> sleep disorders,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Reardon DC, Coleman PK |title=Relative treatment rates for sleep disorders and sleep disturbances following abortion and childbirth: a prospective record-based study |journal=Sleep |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=105–6 |year=2006 |pmid=16453987 |doi=}}</ref> and other sequelae.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Rue VM, Coleman PK, Rue JJ, Reardon DC |title=Induced abortion and traumatic stress: a preliminary comparison of American and Russian women |journal=Med. Sci. Monit. |volume=10 |issue=10 |pages=SR5–16 |year=2004 |pmid=15448616 |doi=}}</ref> Reardon's findings conflict with the majority of medical opinion and evidence, which does not support a link between abortion and any adverse physical or psychological effects.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Grimes DA, Creinin MD |title=Induced abortion: an overview for internists |journal=Ann. Intern. Med. |volume=140 |issue=8 |pages=620–6 |year=2004 |pmid=15096333 |doi=}} Key summary points of article state that ''"Abortion does not lead to an increased risk for breast cancer or other late psychiatric or medical sequelae."'' On p. 624, the authors state: ''"The alleged 'postabortion trauma syndrome' does not exist."''</ref>
In a '']'' article titled "Research and Destroy", author ] profiled Reardon as an example of what he describes as "Christian conservatives have gone a long way towards creating their own scientific counter-establishment."<ref name=mooney/> He also notes that Reardon's findings conflict with those of the ], which in 1990 had rejected "the notion that abortion regularly causes severe or clinical mental problems", and with the conclusions of former ] ].<ref name=mooney/><ref >{{cite journal |vauthors=Schmiege S, Russo NF |title=Depression and unwanted first pregnancy: longitudinal cohort study |journal=BMJ |volume=331 |issue=7528 |pages=1303 |date=December 2005 |pmid=16257993 |pmc=1298850 |doi=10.1136/bmj.38623.532384.55 }}</ref>


In a front-page story for the '']'', '']'' editor ] describes Reardon as arguing that the anti-abortion movement will "never win over a majority... by asserting the sanctity of fetal life", and therefore should focus on disseminating information that abortion is psychologically harmful to women as a more effective strategy.<ref name="nytimes"/>
Reardon is also the author of seven books on abortion, including ''Making Abortion Rare'', in which he argued that abortion is harmful to women and suggested that emphasizing this alleged harm should be a weapon in the anti-abortion arsenal.<ref name="nytimes"/> Reardon also wrote ''The Devil's Bargain'', in which he states that abortion is a sin pushed on by women by the Devil. Once a woman chooses to have an abortion, Reardon wrote, "Satan turns on her... he charges her with the crime of an unforgivable murder, a secret shame of which she can never be free."<ref name="pbsnow2">, show #329. Aired on ] on ] ]; accessed ] ].</ref>


When researchers attack his findings, Reardon writes to the journals' letters pages. "Even if pro-abortionists got five paragraphs explaining that abortion is safe and we got only one line saying it's dangerous, the seed of doubt is planted," he wrote in his book.
=== Position on abortion debate ===
<ref name="nytimes"/>
In regard to the ], Reardon has argued that the traditional ] perspective on abortion ignores the long-term impact of the abortion experience on women's lives, and that the traditional ] perspective should be replaced by a "pro-woman/pro-life" approach which focuses on both women and fetuses.<ref> </ref><ref> an excerpt from <i>Making Abortion Rare</i></ref> Reardon describes his own position as both "pro-life" (believing a human fetus is deserving of protection) and "anti-abortion" (believing abortion hurts women).<ref>David C. Reardon. Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation (1996) Acorn Books.</ref>


Reardon has been described in the '']'' as someone who "wants Congress to impose strict barriers to abortion." The ''Boston Globe'' also wrote:
In a 2002 article in '']'', Reardon argued that in order to be effective, pro-life efforts had to present "a moral vision that consistently demonstrates just as much concern for women as for their unborn children."<ref name="ethicsmed">{{cite journal |author=Reardon DC |title=A defense of the neglected rhetorical strategy (NRS) |journal=Ethics Med |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=23–32 |year=2002 |pmid=14700036 |doi=}}</ref> Reardon therefore encouraged the pro-life movement to embrace and disseminate information stating that abortion was harmful to women, writing:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>In some cases, it is unnecessary to convince people of abortion's dangers. It is sufficient simply to raise enough doubts about abortion that they will refuse actively to oppose the proposed anti-abortion initiative.<ref name="ethicsmed"/></blockquote>
This dual role of advocate/researcher is becoming more common, especially as advocacy groups realize they can sway more opinions by asserting that their research is based on science, rather than simply on personal belief. <nowiki></nowiki> Reardon, like many people who play this dual role, insists he can objectively look at the data without being influenced by his personal viewpoint.<ref name="globe">, by Michael Kranish. Published in the '']'' on July 31, 2005; accessed November 27, 2007.</ref>
In the same article, Reardon summarized his view of abortion thus: "Because abortion is evil, we can expect, and can even know, that it will harm those who participate in it. Nothing good comes from evil."<ref name="mooney"/>
</blockquote>


According to the Elliot Institute website, Reardon "is a frequent guest on Christian radio and Christian television talk shows and has been a frequently invited speaker state and national conventions for crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations."<ref> Retrieved November 19, 2007</ref> Reardon addressed the National Pro-Life Religious Council in 1998, where he discussed emotional reactions to abortion in the context of the disputed entity of "]".<ref> Retrieved November 19, 2007</ref> <ref> Publication: National Right to Life News</ref> According to the website of the Elliot Institute, which Reardon founded, he is "a frequent guest on Christian radio and Christian television talk shows and has been a frequently invited speaker state and national conventions for crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927160420/http://www.afterabortion.info/biograp.html |date=2007-09-27 }} Retrieved November 19, 2007</ref> Reardon addressed the National Pro-Life Religious Council in 1998, where he discussed emotional reactions to abortion in the context of the disputed entity of "]".<ref> Retrieved November 19, 2007</ref><ref> Publication: National Right to Life News</ref>


===Academic criticism=== ==Elliot Institute==
Critics of Reardon include Barbara Major of the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara<ref name="CMAJ"> . (2003). ''Canadian Medical Association Journal, 169 (2).''</ref><ref> by Brenda N Major, Ph.D.</ref> and Nancy Russo, a psychology professor at Arizona State University.<ref><i>BMJ Rapid Response</i> by Nancy F. Russo, Ph.D. and Sarah J. Schmiege, Ph.D.</ref><ref> by Nancy F. Russo, Ph.D. and Sarah J. Schmiege, Ph.D.</ref><ref>Bazelon, Emily. ''The New York Times Magazine''.</ref>


Reardon is the founder and director of the Elliot Institute, which in 2005 reported that it had two full-time and one part-time employees.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.afterabortion.info/news/yearend2005.htm |title=Elliot Institute 2005 Year End Report |access-date=2008-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509085239/http://afterabortion.info/news/yearend2005.htm |archive-date=2008-05-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to its web site, the Elliot Institute studies "the effects of eugenics, abortion, population control, and sexual attitudes and practices on individuals and society at large."<ref></ref> The institute was described by '']'' as an "anti-abortion organization focusing on the physical and psychological effects of abortion."<ref name="usatoday">, by Rita Rubin. Published in '']'' on February 26, 2003; accessed March 6, 2008.</ref>
Barbara Major argues that the results of one of Reardon's studies of 194,694 Medi-Cal patients finding significantly higher psychiatric admission rates after abortion<ref>Reardon DC, Cougle JR, Rue VM, Shuping MW, Coleman PK, Ney PG. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstract/168/10/1253?ijkey=479a406447b1b7181321ec50cb03d6554c9c8ead&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha Psychiatric admissions of low-income women following abortion and childbirth.] CMAJ 2003;168(10):1253-6.</ref> is "inconsistent with a number of well-designed earlier studies" which did not find higher rates of psychological problems after abortion.<ref name="CMAJ2"> Major B. CMAJ 2003;168(10):1257-8.''Canadian Medical Association Journal, 169 (2).''</ref> She also argues that by comparing women who had abortions to women who delivered pregnancies Reardon's methodology in this study is flawed, asserting that a more appropriate comparison would be to women who wished to abort their pregnancy but chose not to or were not allowed to do so.<ref name="CMAJ2" /> She explains that a higher incidence of psychological problems among women who have abortions is likely to be explained by higher rates of pre-existing psychological problems among women inclined to have abortions.<ref name="CMAJ2" /> She also asserts that the findings reported by Reardon may be easily misinterpreted by the public: "On the basis of correlations such as the one reported here, abortion-rights opponents assert that scientific evidence indicates that abortion causes psychological harm. Because they are not experts in scientific reasoning, most people are unable to evaluate the validity of these claims. Statistics such as those reported by Reardon and colleagues thus run a high risk of being used in ways that misinform and mislead the public." <ref name="CMAJ2"/>


The Elliot Institute has endorsed model legislation regarding ] provisions for women considering abortion and bills that would increase the liability of physicians who provide abortions that are deemed "unsafe or unnecessary".<ref></ref> The Elliot Institute is also leading an effort to build a coalition of groups to advocate for laws that would create a preemptive ban on ].<ref></ref>
Reardon has generally responded to these criticisms with the counter-charge that his critics arguments and motives are tainted by ] biases.<ref name="CMAJR"> www.afterabortion.info</ref> In response to Major's commentary regarding his study of psychiatric hospitalization following abortion, Reardon asserts that Major's critique fails to inform readers that his methodology is the same as that of one of her colleagues which she favorably reviewed previously,<ref name="CMAJ3"> . (2003). ''Canadian Medical Association Journal, 169 (2).''</ref> or that her own published studies have confirmed that a small portion of women having abortion had negative abortion reactions,<ref name="CMAJR"/><ref name="CMAJ3"/> including twenty percent who experienced clinical depression and 1.4% who experienced what Major described as "PTSD based on their responses to the abortion-specific measure."<ref name="Major1">Major B., Cozzarelli C., Cooper M. L., Zubek J., Richards C., Wilhite M., & Gramzow R. H. Psychological responses of women after first-trimester abortion. Archives of General Psychiatry 2000; 57(8), 777-84. Quoting from page 780.</Ref>


Reardon and the Elliot Institute opposed ], and proposed a competing initiative which would have prohibited any embryonic stem cell research which resulted in the destruction of a human embryo, as well as some other types of genetic research, in Missouri.<ref></ref> The Elliot institute created a website which mimicked the site of a pro-stem-cell-research group, the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. The group sued the Elliot Institute in federal court for alleged copyright and trademark violations. Consequently, the Elliot Institute website was ordered temporarily shut down by a federal judge.<ref>, by Donna Higgins. From news.findlaw.com, originally published March 27, 2006. Accessed January 7, 2008.</ref>
In response to the controversy and challenges presented by Reardon's research, a group of New Zealand researchers undertook a study published in 2006 to test Major's argument that psychological differences between women with a history of abortions and those with no history of abortion can be best explained by more pre-existing psychological disorders among the types of women most likely to undergo an abortion.<ref>, and </ref> The team, led by David Fergusson, examined data collected from a longitudinal study of 500 New Zealand women between the age of 15 and 25 years of age. The study found an ] between abortions and elevated rates of suicidal behaviors, depression, substance abuse, anxiety, and other mental problems. Moreover, after attempting to explain these differences by examining demographic variables and measures of mental health prior to the women's first pregnancies, they concluded that the difference in subsequent mental health could not be easily explained by causes other than exposure to abortion.<ref>David M. Fergusson, L. John Horwood, and Elizabeth M. Ridder, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 47(1): 16-24, 2006.</ref> In the conclusions section of their paper Fergusson's team noted that their findings conflicted with the ]'s position on abortion. However, the authors of the New Zealand study are careful to not draw a ] between abortion and mental illness, substance abuse, depression or other factors.<ref>David M. Fergusson, L. John Horwood, and Elizabeth M. Ridder, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 47(1): 16-24, 2006.</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Criticism in the press==
===''The Washington Monthly''===
In a '']'' article titled, "Research and Destroy" author ] profiles Reardon as an example of what he describes as "Christian conservatives have gone a long way towards creating their own scientific counter-establishment".<ref>Chris Mooney Washington Monthly, October 2004</ref> He also notes that Reardon's findings conflict with those of the ], which has rejected the "the notion that abortion regularly causes severe or clinical mental problems", and with the conclusions which Surgeon General ] delivered by letter to ] in 1988. Koop stated that "scientific studies do not provide conclusive data about the health effects of abortion on women."<ref> Chris Mooney Bucking the Gipper, October 2004</ref>


*{{cite book|author1=Reardon, David C.|title=Aborted Women: Silent No More|publisher=Loyola University Press|year=1987|isbn=9780829405798|location=Chicago, IL}}
===''The New York Times Magazine''===
*{{cite book|author=Reardon, David C.|title=Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation|url=https://archive.org/details/makingabortionra0000rear|url-access=registration|publisher=Acorn Books|location=Springfield, IL|year=1996|isbn=0-9648957-6-5}}
In a front page story for '']'' describing the growing movement of post-abortion counseling ministries around the United States, ], a senior editor at '']'', asserts that Reardon is the "]" of the post-abortion movement's efforts to promote the idea that "abortion harms women and that this should be a weapon in the anti-abortion arsenal". She writes that Reardon has claimed the anti-abortion movement will "never win over a majority... by asserting the sancitity of fetal life.<ref>Bazelon, Emily. ''The New York Times Magazine''. </ref> Those in the ambivalent middle 'have hardened their hearts to the unborn ‘fetus’' and are 'focused totally on the woman.' And so the anti-abortion movement must do the same". She also quotes Reardon's book, ''Aborted Women'', where he claims, "Even if pro-abortionists got five paragraphs explaining that abortion is safe and we got only one line saying it’s dangerous, the seed of doubt is planted".<ref>Ibid</ref>
*{{cite book|author=Reardon, David C.|title=The Jericho Plan: Breaking Down the Walls Which Prevent Post-Abortion Healing|publisher=Acorn Books|location=Springfield, IL|year=1996|isbn=0-9648957-5-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/jerichoplanbreak00rear}}

*{{cite book|author1=Reardon|first=David C.|author2=Makimaa, Julie|author3=Sobie, Amy|title=Victims and Victors: Speaking out about their pregnancies, abortions, and children resulting from sexual assault|publisher=Acorn Books|location=Springfield, IL|year=2000|isbn=0-9648957-1-4}}
Bazelon writes:
*{{cite book|author1=Burke|first=Theresa|author2=Reardon, David C.|title=Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion|publisher=Acorn Books|location=Springfield, IL|year=2002|isbn=0-9648957-8-1}}
:: "For anti-abortion activists, this strategy offers distinct advantages. It challenges the connection between access to abortion and women’s rights — if women are suffering because of their abortions, then how could making the procedure readily available leave women better off? It replaces mute pictures of dead fetuses with the voices of women who narrate their stories in raw detail and who claim they can move legislators to tears. And it trades condemnation for pity and forgiveness. “Pro-lifers who say, ‘I don’t understand how anyone could have an abortion,’ are blind to how hurtful this statement can be,” Reardon writes on his Web site. “A more humble pro-life attitude would be to say, ‘Who am I to throw stones at others?’<ref>Bazelon, Emily. ''The New York Times Magazine''. </ref>

==Other criticisms==
Some commentators {{Fact|November 19, 2007|date=November 2007}} have characterized Reardon as "controversial" because a case review by Reardon suggesting that abortion associated ] (PTSD)was a contributing factor behind ]'s act of severing her husband's penis with a kitchen knife, in 1993.<ref>Ertelt, Steven. (January 15, 2004). "." ''Lifenews.com''. Retrieved February 11, 2007.</ref> Reardon asserts that the attack, which occurred almost exactly three years after the abortion, reflected aspects of an "anniversary reaction" associated to the abortion. To support this theory, Reardon notes that Lorena testified that she had flashbacks to the abortion moments before the attack when she was in the kitchen and retrieving the knive. Court records indicate she was also treated for psychosomatic cramping and other symptoms days before the attack which Reardon also asserts may be related to post-abortion anniversary reactions.<ref> The PostAbortion Review 4(2-3) Spring & Summer 1996.</ref>

Other critics<sup>cite needed</sup> infer that Reardon's views are biased by pro-life considerations because the Elliot Institute (of which Reardon is the Director) has advocated for a preemptive ban on ].<ref> </ref>


==See also== ==See also==
*]
*]
*]


== References == == References ==
{{reflist}}
<div class="small">
<references />
</div>


==Bibliography== ==External links==
*


{{Authority control}}
<b>Books</b>
*''Aborted Women, Silent No More'' (1987)
*''Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation'' (1996)
*''The Jericho Plan: Breaking Down the Walls Which Prevent Post-Abortion Healing'' (1996)
*''Victims and Victors: Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions, and Children Resulting from Sexual Assault'' (with Julie Makimaa and Amy Sobie - 2000)
*''Forbidden Grief: The Unspoken Pain of Abortion'' (with ] - 2002)


] {{DEFAULTSORT:Reardon, David}}
] ]
]
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Latest revision as of 20:59, 7 September 2024

American electrical engineer and anti-abortion activist
David C. Reardon
Alma materUniversity of Illinois
Pacific Western University (Hawaii)
Known forAnti-abortion activism

David C. Reardon is an American electrical engineer and anti-abortion activist. He is the founder of the Elliot Institute, an anti-abortion advocacy group, and the author of a number of articles and books on abortion and mental health. Reardon was described in The New York Times Magazine as the "Moses" of the "post-abortion movement".

Biography

A graduate of the University of Illinois department of electrical engineering, Reardon began researching the effects of abortion in the mid-1980s. Reardon subsequently received a Ph.D. in biomedical ethics from Pacific Western University (Hawaii), an unaccredited correspondence school.

Reardon describes his position on abortion as both "pro-life" (believing a human fetus is deserving of protection) and "pro-woman" and "anti-abortion" (believing abortion hurts women). In a 2002 article in Ethics & Medicine, Reardon argued that in order to be effective, anti-abortion efforts had to present "a moral vision that consistently demonstrates just as much concern for women as for their unborn children." Reardon appealed to the anti-abortion movement to support his "pro-woman/pro-life" strategy, writing:

For the purpose of passing restrictive laws to protect women from unwanted and/or dangerous abortions, it does not matter if people have a pro-life view. The ambivalent majority of people who are willing to tolerate abortion in "some cases" are very likely to support informed consent legislation and abortion clinic regulations, for example, because these proposals are consistent with their desire to protect women. In some cases, it is not even necessary to convince people of abortion's dangers. It is sufficient to simply raise enough doubts about abortion that they will refuse to actively oppose the proposed anti-abortion initiative.

Media coverage

In a Washington Monthly article titled "Research and Destroy", author Chris Mooney profiled Reardon as an example of what he describes as "Christian conservatives have gone a long way towards creating their own scientific counter-establishment." He also notes that Reardon's findings conflict with those of the American Psychological Association, which in 1990 had rejected "the notion that abortion regularly causes severe or clinical mental problems", and with the conclusions of former United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.

In a front-page story for the New York Times Magazine, Slate editor Emily Bazelon describes Reardon as arguing that the anti-abortion movement will "never win over a majority... by asserting the sanctity of fetal life", and therefore should focus on disseminating information that abortion is psychologically harmful to women as a more effective strategy.

When researchers attack his findings, Reardon writes to the journals' letters pages. "Even if pro-abortionists got five paragraphs explaining that abortion is safe and we got only one line saying it's dangerous, the seed of doubt is planted," he wrote in his book.

Reardon has been described in the Boston Globe as someone who "wants Congress to impose strict barriers to abortion." The Boston Globe also wrote:

This dual role of advocate/researcher is becoming more common, especially as advocacy groups realize they can sway more opinions by asserting that their research is based on science, rather than simply on personal belief. Reardon, like many people who play this dual role, insists he can objectively look at the data without being influenced by his personal viewpoint.

According to the website of the Elliot Institute, which Reardon founded, he is "a frequent guest on Christian radio and Christian television talk shows and has been a frequently invited speaker state and national conventions for crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations." Reardon addressed the National Pro-Life Religious Council in 1998, where he discussed emotional reactions to abortion in the context of the disputed entity of "post-abortion syndrome".

Elliot Institute

Reardon is the founder and director of the Elliot Institute, which in 2005 reported that it had two full-time and one part-time employees. According to its web site, the Elliot Institute studies "the effects of eugenics, abortion, population control, and sexual attitudes and practices on individuals and society at large." The institute was described by USA Today as an "anti-abortion organization focusing on the physical and psychological effects of abortion."

The Elliot Institute has endorsed model legislation regarding informed consent provisions for women considering abortion and bills that would increase the liability of physicians who provide abortions that are deemed "unsafe or unnecessary". The Elliot Institute is also leading an effort to build a coalition of groups to advocate for laws that would create a preemptive ban on human genetic engineering.

Reardon and the Elliot Institute opposed The Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, and proposed a competing initiative which would have prohibited any embryonic stem cell research which resulted in the destruction of a human embryo, as well as some other types of genetic research, in Missouri. The Elliot institute created a website which mimicked the site of a pro-stem-cell-research group, the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. The group sued the Elliot Institute in federal court for alleged copyright and trademark violations. Consequently, the Elliot Institute website was ordered temporarily shut down by a federal judge.

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^ Science in support of a cause: the new research, by Michael Kranish. Published in the Boston Globe on July 31, 2005; accessed November 27, 2007.
  2. ^ Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?, by Emily Bazelon. Published in the New York Times Magazine on January 21, 2007; accessed November 27, 2007.
  3. ^ Politicized Science: How Anti-Abortion Myths Feed the Christian Right Agenda, by Pam Chamberlain. Published in The Public Eye by Political Research Associates, Summer 2006. Accessed February 17, 2008.
  4. ^ Mooney, Chris. (October 1, 2004). "Research and Destroy" Archived April 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Washington Monthly. Retrieved February 11, 2007.
  5. PBS NOW transcript, show #329, aired on PBS on July 20, 2007; accessed November 27, 2007. In the transcript, PBS senior correspondent Maria Hinojosa describes Reardon: "With a PhD from an unaccredited online institution, he's turned out dozens of studies that supposedly prove abortion is dangerous to women's mental health."
  6. David C. Reardon. Making Abortion Rare: A Healing Strategy for a Divided Nation (1996) Acorn Books. See especially Chapter Two Archived 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine where Reardon discusses the terms pro-life, pro-woman, anti-abortion, pro-choice and pro-abortion.
  7. ^ Reardon DC (2002). "A defense of the neglected rhetorical strategy (NRS)". Ethics Med. 18 (2): 23–32. PMID 14700036. Full text in pdf here
  8. Schmiege S, Russo NF (December 2005). "Depression and unwanted first pregnancy: longitudinal cohort study". BMJ. 331 (7528): 1303. doi:10.1136/bmj.38623.532384.55. PMC 1298850. PMID 16257993.
  9. Elliot Institute Website Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 19, 2007
  10. Real Audio from the National Pro-Life Religious Council website Retrieved November 19, 2007
  11. "Pastors Gather to Meet Challenge of Pro-Life Ministry." Publication: National Right to Life News
  12. "Elliot Institute 2005 Year End Report". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  13. Elliot Institute Website "About Our Coalition"
  14. No Abortion-Breast Cancer Link, by Rita Rubin. Published in USA Today on February 26, 2003; accessed March 6, 2008.
  15. Elliot Institute Website "Politics"
  16. Elliot Institute homepage
  17. Missouri State Government website
  18. Court Shuts Down Anti-Stem-Cell Web Site for Copyright Violations, by Donna Higgins. From news.findlaw.com, originally published March 27, 2006. Accessed January 7, 2008.

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