In 2010, La Sierra University,a Seventh-day Adventist liberal arts institution in Southern California, named its “Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Center” after notorious abortion provider Edward C. Allred. Allred, a 1964 graduate ofLoma Linda University Medical School, has achieved legendary status in the pro-life community for his frank comments in a1980 interview with the San Diego Union. (The full article, entitled “Doctor’s Abortion Business is Lucrative” is available here:http://bit.ly/Edward_Allred_Article)
In the article, Allred described how he was able perform more abortions, more quickly, in a more cost-effective manner. In addition to eliminating pre-abortion psychiatric counseling, Allred’s doctors would spend no more than 5 minutes per procedure by “eliminating needless patient-physician contact.”
According to the article, “The secret of the clinics’ efficiency, Allred said, is ‘giving everyone one job to do and then making them an expert at it.’”
Allred described how clinic buses would pick up “planeloads ofwomen” who flew to California from states where it was difficult to obtain abortion procedures.
Allred’s motivation for starting the clinics is also quite interesting. Rather than summarize, I will simply include the following paragraphs from the Union article
Allred said he was interested in population control even before he went into the abortion business. He said he and his wife decided 20 years ago to have no children and never regretted the decision. He suffers the controversy surrounding abortion without apparent turmoil (“It’s inevitable”) and refuses to debate the morality (“I’m not a philosopher.”)
“Population control is too important to be stopped by some right-wing pro-life types,” Allred said. “Take the new influx of Hispanic immigrants. Their lack of respect for democracy and social order is frightening. I hope I can do something to stem that tide; I’d set up aclinic in Mexico for free if I could. Maybe one in Calexico would help. The survival of our society could be at stake.”
Eliminating welfare would be a good step toward population control, Allred said.
“The Aid to Families with Dependent Children program is the worst boondoggle ever created,” he said. “When a sullen black woman of 17 or 18 can decide to have a baby and get welfare and food stamps and become a burden to all of us, it’s time to stop. In parts of South Los Angeles having babies for welfare is the only industry the people have.”
If the state eliminates Medi-Cal funding for abortions, Allred said his clinics might continue giving free abortions to poor women “for the social good.”
Allred is also listed as the physician on duty at the failed abortion ofGianna Jessen (Pictured) (see in 1977 who was born alive after her mother underwent an attempted saline abortion. She suffers cerebral palsy, but has become an outspoken anti-abortion advocate and dedicated Christian, specifically lobbying for legislation signed by George W. Bush in 2002 that outlawed the killing ofabortion survivors by strangulation, suffocation, discarding the living fetus, or leaving it to die. (http://www.bornalivetruth.org/giannastory.php and http://www.giannajessen.com)
Allred, who had made millions through is abortion clinics, sold his chain of clinics in 2005 to another graduate of Loma Linda University. Allred also bought the Los Alamitos Racetrack and in the past decade lobbied to change state law in order to have Vegas-style slot machines brought to the track to help increase revenue.
In 1992, the Seventh-day Adventist Church published Guidelines on Abortion which provides that “prenatal human life is a magnificent giftof God. God’s ideal for human beings affirms the sanctity of human life, in God’s image, and requires respect for prenatal life. However, decisions about life must be made in the context of a fallen world. Abortion is never an action of little moral consequence. Thus prenatal life must not be thoughtlessly destroyed. Abortion should be performed only for the most serious reasons.”
The guidelines continue, “Abortions for reasons of birth control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned by the Church. Women, at times however, may face exceptional circumstances that present serious moral or medical dilemmas, such as significant threats to the pregnant woman’s life, serious jeopardy to her health, severe congenital defects carefully diagnosed in the fetus, and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.“
La Sierra University describes Allred as follows (http://www.lasierra.edu/index.php?id=6819):
“Dr. Allred has always been an entrepreneur, whether in his innovative and financially successful medical practice or in his lifelong commitment to the sport and business of quarter horse racing in the United States and Southern California in particular. To both he has brought not only sound and creative business practices but also adeep interest in his colleagues and employees and a genuine care for their well being.
“Dr. Allred has also been a change agent in society through his generosity as a philanthropist. He has been especially supportive ofuniversities, secondary schools, student groups, and church organizations.
“The Center is pleased not only to acknowledge the legacy of Dr. Edward C. Allred but also to carry out at least part of his vision for the promotion of free market economics particularly among high school students.”
As an alumnus and a Seventh-day Adventist myself, I contacted La Sierra regarding my concerns regarding the naming of the facility. I have been advised that the University has no intention of renaming the Edward C. Allred Center for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship. According to spokesperson Larry Becker, “It’s important to note that La Sierra University benefits from the generosityof a wide variety of donors—Adventist and non-Adventist. The University values each gift as a donor’s expression of support for its efforts to provide the best possible Adventist education to our students.”
There is an old rule of thumb when it comes to bestowing honorifics that says, “Tell me who you honor and I will tell you what you are.”
In naming the center after Allred, La Sierra has bestowed not only an honorific title, but staked its claim in one of the most contentious social issues by tacitly acknowledging, approving, and praising his entrepreneurial accomplishment.
Given that the University is making its stance eminently clear, let us also be clear – this honor is objectionable and abhorrent. La Sierra University – rename the center!
###
Good on you mate!
You have had a long habit of standing up for those who can not stand up for themselves.
Michael,
You have done a superb job in researching and reporting on this story which has captured the attention of many Adventist and non-Adventist media sources.
I would like to point out that in honoring Dr. Edward Allred in spite of its heavy involvement with the abortion industry, La Sierra University has done nothing that is drastically different from what the Adventist Church has done.
The main difference between what Allred did and what the church was able to accomplish is that this doctor designed a more efficient method of killing unborn babies.
If we condemn Allred’s success in profiting from abortion, then we must also condemn what the church did. The Adventist leadership allowed our own hospitals to profit from abortions on demand starting back in 1970 when the State of Hawaii legalized abortion.
Thanks for the article,Michael. What’s as despicable as Dr. Allred’s moral incoherence is LSU’s honoring of it. Becker’s attempt to not only defend the donation but also the naming of the center reveals how low LSU is willing to prostitute itself in order to provide it’s version of an “Adventist education”. Taking Becker’s word for it perhaps we should now expect sizable donations from publishing and marketing pioneers Larry Flint and Hugh Hefner, towards the establishment of the new LSU Arts and Journalism Center. Or perhaps the LSU’s new Advertising department made possible by the generous donations of Carlos Brito Anheuser-Busch CEO. Rename the center and give the money back!! God doesn’t need it.And the SDA church doesn’t need any more blood on it’s hands.Thanks again for sounding the warning.
This is in direct defiance of the Church’s 1992 “guidelines/suggestions”,LSU’s equivalent of Jehoiakim, hearing the words of the Jeremiah’s scroll and burning them.And don’t forget to mention that Dr. Allred has now added to his business portfolio acquisition of the Los Alamitos Racetrack. Abortion and gambling is now honored at LSU.
I could not have said it better myself. I have always felt proud to have graduated from LSU. However, this is more than just an unfortunate embarrassment. It is a claim and endorsement that is equivalent to prostitution of the moral stance the University claims to uphold. Allred saw no value in minority contributions and felt absolutely no compunction about finding ways to slaughter as many minorities as possible. A racist who felt it his right to kill all who did not fit his definition of value before they had any opportunity to contribute. I can not see any benefit other than as a means for those who chose the name to declare a shared outlook and lack of moral compass.
It is a crying shame the SDA church went down the AMA accreditation road which = rejecting Gods way = $ = worldly recognition = death of kids = death to those who don’t repent and turn from there wicked ways. Come quickly Lord Jesus.