unwanted
widespread
coercion
unsafe
teens & moms at
risk
unfair
injustice to all involved
hope & healing
you are not alone
Where did our name come from?
The name Elliot Institute was chosen at the time of our
first survey. A name such as "The Post-Abortion Research
Institute" would have biased the survey results. "Elliot"
was chosen from a baby name book and means "faithful to
God."
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What we do
looking
back at 21+ years, looking ahead to new hope
 The
Elliot Institute is one of the leading organizations
researching the impact of abortion. In addition, we serve as a major resource
for organizations around the world who are concerned about protecting the rights
of women and their unborn children.
Our mission also includes educating others about abortion's injustice, trauma,
and risk to all involved; and raising awareness of the urgent need for further
education, authentic support, compassionate outreach and healing.
This mission has led us to undertake many
efforts over the years.
Below we highlight some of our most important efforts in the
areas of research, education & outreach, and advocacy for
women injured and exploited by abortion.
Research
1. Conducting Groundbreaking Research
2. Finding the Truth About Unwanted Pregnancies
3. Leading the Way on Record-Based Research
4. Running the World's Most Extensive
Online Resource for Post-Abortion Research
Education & Outreach
5. Publishing the Forced Abortion Report
6. Launching TheUnChoice.com Web Site
7. Helping Pro-Life Groups Raise Awareness With
Our UnChoice Resources
8. Targeting Communities Through The UnChoice
Campaign
9. Becoming A World
Leader in Information and Education
10. Speaking Out Through Presentations and
Interviews
11. Promoting Awareness and Healing
Through The Rose Series Campaign
Advocacy
12. Giving a Voice to Women Who Became
Pregnant Through Sexual Assault
13. Leading Efforts to Expose and Stop
Coerced & Forced Abortions
14. Exposing Deceptive Practices at
Abortion Clinics
15. Advocating for
Women and Unborn Children in the Courts
RESEARCH
1. Conducting Groundbreaking Research
The Elliot Institute has participated in
the research and publication of
more than 15
peer-reviewed studies
and published dozens of papers and literature reviews
examining the detrimental effects of abortion on women.
This research is leading to a greater
understanding of the obstacles and injustices that many
women and teens face before, during and after abortion,
and the reality of post-abortion trauma, grief and
injury. Counselors, health care providers and policy
makers are using our findings to help women struggling
with serious and potentially life-threatening problems
and to promote legislation and policies protecting the
rights of women, teens and families at risk. Even the
U.S. Supreme Court cited our research in a recent
ruling.
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2.
Finding the Truth About Unwanted Pregnancies
Abortion proponents often claim that abortion is better for
women than carrying an "unwanted" pregnancy to term. The
Elliot Institute has been involved in the publication of
studies
comparing women with a first, unplanned pregnancy and found
that women who had abortions were more likely to experience
subsequent depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
Our research continues to focus on finding the truth about
abortion's impact on women, men, families and society; and
finding real solutions for those who face a unplanned or
challenging pregnancy, rather than the "unchoice" of an
unwanted, unsafe, coerced or forced abortion.
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3. Leading the Way on Record-Based Research
While a number of researchers have published
studies related to abortion over the years, many research
efforts have been plagued with the problem of relying on
women's self-reporting to study abortion problems. Surveys
can be problematic because women may drop out of a study,
conceal a past abortion, or provide inaccurate or incomplete
answers to questions about her mental state. The best and
most accurate studies are those that rely on medical records
rather than survey results.
The Elliot Institute is a world leader in
conducting
records-based
studies on abortion issues— studies
that rely on women's medical records rather than surveys.
Studies carried out by the Elliot Institute in partnership
with other researchers have linked abortion to a variety of
subsequent mental health disorders, including higher rates
of suicide, depression, adjustment disorders, anxiety,
bipolar disorder, sleep disorders, drug and alcohol abuse,
and psychiatric hospitalization.
Currently we are working with a massive
database of records from a national cohort of millions of
women spanning 20 years. This data can verify our earlier
studies linking abortion to higher rates of suicide,
depression, substance abuse, and other problems. It will
also help us shed light on other ways that abortion puts
women and teens at risk.
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4. Running the Word's Most Extensive
Online Resource For Post-Abortion Research
The Elliot Institute runs
AbortionRisks.org,
a clearinghouse for users around the world to find and
contribute information on post-abortion issues,
including new research. T his
online project is designed to be a central resource for
students, activists, researchers, educators, counselors
and the general public to find information on
post-abortion research. It also allows post-abortion
support groups to share information about their
ministries and raise public awareness of widespread
coercion and abortion risks, and the urgent need for
education, authentic support and post-abortion healing.
AbortionRisks.org is also the
home of the Thomas W. Strahan Memorial Library,
the most extensive bibliography ever compiled of
published studies, books, and articles on post-abortion
problems.
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EDUCATION & OUTREACH
5. Publishing
the Forced Abortion Report
Coerced and forced abortions are a hidden
epidemic in the United States. News reports, expert research
and personal testimonies have detail abuse and violence
against pregnant women. Few Americans realize that homicide
is the leading cause of death among pregnant women, and
anecdotal evidence suggests that many women have been
assaulted or even killed for refusing to undergo abortions.
We have exposed this epidemic through the
publication of the
Forced Abortion
Report, a 22-page expose highlighting statistics and
cases from all across the U.S. in which women became victims
of discrimination, abuse or violence because they refused to
abort. Copies of the report have been circulated on the web
and among pro-life groups and advocates around the country.
In addition, we have created two shorter,
easy-to-distribute flyers—Portraits
of Coercion, which provides a general introduction to
this issue, and the
Forced
Abortion Fact Sheet, a quick-reference summary of key
facts —to
help advocates draw attention to this hidden problem.
Sadly, cases of pregnancy- and
abortion-related violence frequently appear in news reports
and we will continue our efforts to expose this tragic
situation as long as women and girls and their unborn
children remain at risk for violence. We are seeing some
progress as more and more states pass laws to punish
perpetrators who threaten, assault or kill pregnant women,
and will continue our efforts to promote laws that help
protect the rights of women and children.
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6.
Launching
TheUnChoice.com Web Site
Research and the stories of women who've been there show
that, contrary to popular belief, most women
do not want abortions. In fact, the evidence suggests that
most abortions are more likely to be the result of pressure
or coercion —including
manipulation, disinformation from experts, threats,
emotional blackmail or even violence. Such injustices
are furthered by the fact that friends, family and mental
health experts often deny the existence
of post-abortion trauma and grief. Our research is making it
increasingly clear that abortion really is the
UnChoice.
Yet many people—including
some pro-lifers and other compassionate advocates and
leaders—remain
unaware of this shocking injustice to women and their loved
ones, and of the devastating emotional and physical trauma
that can result from pregnancy-related abuses and abortion.
Our
UnChoice web site is a user-friendly resources and
information portal for pro-lifers and the general public to
learn about this issue. It provides new facts and
information to expose the risks women and girls face, and to
reverse unfair stereotypes that can lead others to deny them
compassion and support. Such obstacles can stop women, teens
and their families from getting the help and information
they need before and after abortion.
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7. Helping Pro-Life Groups
Spread the Message Through Our UnChoice Resources
In 2004, we co-authored a survey that provided startling new
findings about pressure, inadequate information and
professional negligence applied to women undergoing
abortions. This and other recent studies corroborate earlier
studies and testimonies that paint a portrait of a "perfect
storm" of obstacles that are faced by women who are pregnant
in "less than perfect" situations, and point to widespread
unwanted, pressured, coerced and even forced abortion in
America.
In response to this evidence, we updated and
expanded our materials and developed a family of new,
user-friendly tools that educate the general public and can
be used by pro-life groups for education, outreach and
advocacy. These materials were designed to shed light on new
evidence showing that most abortions are unwanted,
pressured, coerced and even forced, and to overturn harmful
assumptions that can stop women from getting the support
they need.
We now have available (through our web site)
many free and low-cost materials that include fact sheets
and booklets, educational kits, bulletin inserts and flyers,
print ads in various sizes and formats, radio and TV ads,
posters, billboard concepts and more.
Our UnChoice materials have been used by
pro-life organizations, pregnancy centers, post-abortion
healing ministries, clergy, counselors, educators and
concerned citizens in the U.S. and around the world,
including in Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, Texas,
California, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Tennessee, South
Carolina, Alabama, Hawaii, Virginia, Montana, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Illinois, New Mexico,
Wisconsin, Canada, Ireland, Australia and more.
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8.
Targeting Communities Through The UnChoice Ad, Education and
Advocacy Campaign
After developing our UnChoice materials, we
took the next step of pulling them together into one
campaign that can have a greater impact on a community than
ads or materials distributed singly. The UnChoice campaign
helps people to learn, remember and share and important new
message about unwanted abortions and the related risks and
injustices that abortion poses to the very people it was
meant to serve.
The UnChoice campaign is a multi-media
campaign that is meant to be run throughout a community over
a specific period of time. Print ads, radio and television
ads, billboards, and supporting materials will be used
together to raise awareness about pregnancy- and
abortion-related injustices and abortion's harm to all
involved.
The UnChoice campaign incorporates the latest
evidence of widespread unwanted or coerced and even forced
abortion, as well as the expertise and insights of leaders
who specialize in complex and highly sensitive pregnancy-
and abortion-related issues. It is written in a manner that
is respectful of the complex and deeply personal issues
surrounding abortion and the pain of those who lost a loved
one to abortion or its aftermath.
We are also developing a series of PR and
outreach tools to help pro-life advocates learn how to best
use these materials to educate the public.
This project continues to develop with new information
and resources and is having a far-reaching impact on the
public's perception of abortion and on the efforts of
the pro-life movement.
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9.
Becoming A World Leader in Information and Education
In addition to the resources mentioned above,
the Elliot Institute has provided numerous other educational
materials to help raise awareness of coercion, injustice and
post-abortion trauma, and to advocate for the rights of
women and their unborn children.
We are now the publishers of nine
books, a quarterly
newsletter, a free e-newsletter,
and numerous
booklets, brochures, fact sheets,
and other resources. Our books and publications
have been distributed all over the world, and our web sites
(www.AfterAbortion.org
, www.TheUnChoice.com,
and
www.AbortionRisks.org) draw over 3 million unique
visitors each year.
The Elliot Institute is the leading source
for information and education on coerced and unwanted
abortions and post-abortion trauma for pro-life
organizations and advocacy groups worldwide.
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10. Speaking Out Through
Presentations and Interviews
Over the past two decades, Dr. Reardon and
Elliot Institute staff and colleagues have given hundreds of
media interviews, talks and presentations on post-abortion
issues around the globe.
Most recently, an Elliot Institute staffer
appeared on Life Issues Institute's show Facing Life Head On
(www.facinglife.tv)
to discuss sexual assault pregnancy and abortion. The show
reached more than a hundred million viewers with new facts
and answers about abortion in the hard cases.
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11.
Promoting Awareness and Healing Through The Rose Series
Campaign
After 37 years of legalized abortion, there
are millions of women, men and families mourning the
loss of a child to abortion. Many women have suffered
pregnancy- and abortion-related injustices and struggle with
the aftermath of a traumatic and often and unwanted
procedure. Many fathers of aborted children and families of
women and teens who had abortions were deceived by experts
into thinking that "it's just tissue" or that abortion was
the only solution–while others may
have tried in vain to stop an abortion or did not know about
it until it was too late. Many people also bear the loss of
a daughter, sister, mother or friend who died as a result of
abortion.
Our Rose Series
healing campaign acknowledges this pain in a
compassionate way and lets those suffering know that they
are not alone and that healing is possible. These materials
have been used by pregnancy centers, post-abortion healing
ministries, churches, and individuals throughout the country
to spread a message of hope and healing.
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ADVOCACY
12.
Giving a Voice to Women Who Became Pregnant Through
Sexual Assault
In 2000, after more than 10 years of
collecting stories from women who had become pregnant
through sexual assault, we published the book
Victims and Victors:
Speaking Out About Their Pregnancies, Abortions &
Children Resulting From Sexual Assault.
Based on the largest survey of sexual assault victims
ever done, the book showed that contrary to popular
belief, most women who become pregnant through sexual
assault do not want abortions but are often coerced,
forced or pressured into abortion by those around them.
The publication of Victims and Victors
also led to the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee of
Women Pregnant Through Sexual Assault. The members are
women
who have signed a petition to Congress and state
legislatures asking to be given an opportunity to tell
their stories. In addition, our
Hard Cases: New
Facts, New Answers fact sheet continues to tell the
truth about abortion and the hard cases through
important new facts and a compassionate solution.
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13. Leading Efforts to Expose and Stop
Coerced & Forced Abortions
Thanks in part to our efforts to educate
pro-lifers and the public about the epidemic of unwanted,
coerced and forced abortions, we are seeing legislators in
more states passing laws that require abortion businesses to
provide information and resources to help women who are
being pressured or forced into unwanted abortions.
In response, we introduced the
Stop Forced Abortion Act, an initiative that would
strengthen these efforts by holding abortion businesses
liable for failing to screen women for coercion and for
statistically-validated factors that put them at risk for
mental health problems after abortion. This legislation
would help protect the rights of women and girls and put an
end to most abortions, which research has shown to be
unwanted, unnecessary, traumatic and unsafe. Currently, it
has been introduced in Nebraska and Missouri, and we are
seeking to work with legislators in other states to pass
this bill.
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14. Exposing Deceptive Practices at
Abortion Clinics
Surveys and anecdotal evidence from women who
have had abortions have found that the majority of women
said they were not given adequate counseling before
abortion, and that
they were given false and deceptive information.
In response, we
launched the Expose Deceptive Abortion Practices (EDAP)
project to collect complaints regarding violations of
consumer protection laws from women who have had abortions.
Our goal is to use these complaints to initiate state's
attorney's investigations and prosecution of abortion
businesses engaged in deceptive business practices.
Within just a few months of launching EDAP, we were also
able to refer three women who suffered recent injuries to
malpractice attorneys. This is an ongoing project that will
help stop the practice of giving women false and misleading
information before abortion and help protect their rights
and the rights of their unborn children.
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15.
Advocating for Women and Unborn Children in the Courts
Over the years, we have assisted various
organizations and legal groups seeking to change laws that
allow the abortion industry to perform unwanted, unsafe and
unnecessary abortions and continue the on a path that is
destructive to women, children and families. To that end, we
provide expert assistance to law firms engaged in lawsuits
against the abortion industry. We also provided legal briefs
for efforts by Norma McCorvey (Roe v. Wade) and
Sandra McCano (Doe v. Bolton) to have the Supreme
Court revisit their cases based on new evidence of
abortion's harm to women.
We also work with government officials,
legislators and other individuals to promote initiatives
that would help stop more women from being harmed by
abortion and allow redress and resources for those who have
already been hurt. We are continuing to provide assistance
for groups that are engaged in efforts to protect the rights
of women and their unborn children.
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Support the Elliot
Institute
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Your gift can transform one—or one thousand—lives. By
supporting our many research and educational projects, including our
publications and our advertising, education and outreach campaign, you can
change perceptions about "choice" ... raise awareness of widespread coercion and
pregnancy- and abortion-related injustices and the risk to everyone involved ...
and open the door to healing.
The Elliot Institute relies on
your generosity.
All of our work is funded solely by the support of
people like you. We have a very small mailing list
and a very small budget, so your donation makes a
very big difference!
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Institute:
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Springfield, IL 62791
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Our Sustaining Partners are the "backbone" of our
ministry and support our work through donations made on a
regular basis. Sustaining Partners pledge to make regular
gifts for a year but choose the amount and how often they
want to give.
For information on becoming a Sustaining Partner and
supporting our work through regular donations, download and
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call us at 1-888-412-2676.
Questions or comments?
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