Rachel M. MacNair (born November 4, 1958) is an American sociologist and psychologist who adheres to the

consistent life ethic The consistent life ethic, also known as the consistent ethic of life or whole life ethic, is an ideology that opposes abortion, capital punishment, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. Adherents oppose war, or at the very least, unjust war; some adh ...

. She is an activist against

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

and war, and has written against the culture of violence and the eating of meat. An expert on

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

psychology, she coined the term "Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress" (PITS), a form of

posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats ...

(PTSD) that may result from the action of killing. She edited ''Working for Peace: A Handbook of Practical Psychology''. She is also a Quaker, which influences her anti-violence work. MacNair served for ten years as the president of Feminists for Life, an anti-abortion organization, and she founded the

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

to help elect anti-abortion politicians. She is a director of the Institute for Integrated Social Analysis, the research arm of the Consistent Life Network.

Education

MacNair was the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

for her class at

Paseo High School Paseo Academy, also referred to as Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts and sometimes Paseo High School, is a magnet performing arts high school located at 4747 Flora Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City Public Sch ...

in Kansas City, Missouri. In the 1970s, MacNair was active in the

anti-nuclear movement The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...

. In June 1978 she earned a bachelor of arts degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from

Earlham College Earlham College is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. The college was established in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has a strong focus on Quaker values such as integrity, a commitment to peace and social ...

in Richmond, Indiana, graduating with honors. After a career in political activism, she entered a doctoral degree program at the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

in 1996. During her studies she was awarded an Arthur Mag Graduate Fellowship for outstanding scholarship, and a Chancellor's Special Merit Award in 1997, and a Chancellor's Interdisciplinary Fellowship in 1998. She earned a doctorate degree in Sociology and Psychology in December 1999, writing her dissertation: ''Symptom pattern differences for Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress in veterans: Probing the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study''.

Anti-abortion

In 1979, MacNair joined Prolifers for Survival, a group formed by

Juli Loesch Juli Loesch (born 1951) (akas: Julianne Wiley, Julie Loesch Wiley, Juli Loesch Wiley) is an American anti-abortion activist and former media coordinator for Operation Rescue in Atlanta, Georgia. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1951, Loesch atte ...

to merge anti-abortion and anti-nuclear activism into a

. In 1987, the Prolifers for Survival changed into the Seamless Garment Network, and later still became known as Consistent Life.

Feminists for Life

In June 1984, while she was pregnant with her only child, MacNair began serving as president of Feminists for Life of America (FFL). She participated in more than 100 radio interviews and appeared as a speaker in front of college audiences. She told a reporter, "Abortion is the result of male domination. The main problem has always been that men set the terms for sex. Women need to have the power to set those terms. Abortion just sweeps that problem under the rug. It allows men to continue to be virtually free of responsibility for the results of their sexual activity." MacNair worked mostly alone in her position, operating FFL out of an office inside a crisis pregnancy center on East 47th Street in Kansas City. After ten years as leader, she stepped down in June 1994.

Susan B. Anthony List

The formation of the

was catalyzed in March 1992 when MacNair watched a '' 60 Minutes'' television documentary profiling IBM-heiress

Ellen Malcolm Ellen R. Malcolm (born February 2, 1947) is an American activist with a long career in American politics, particularly in political fundraising. She founded EMILY's List in 1985 and served as its president until 2010. Early life Malcolm's ...

and the successful campaign-funding activities of her pro-

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, abortion rights group

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

. MacNair wished to counter EMILY's List by providing early campaign funds to anti-abortion women candidates. Led by FFL and MacNair, 15 anti-abortion groups formed an umbrella organization, the National Women's Coalition for Life (NWCL), which adopted a joint anti-abortion statement on April 3, 1992. Also inspired by EMILY's List, in 1992 the

WISH List A wish list, wishlist or want list is an itemization of goods or services that a person or organization desires. The author may distribute copies of their list to family, friends, and other stakeholders who are likely to purchase gifts for t ...

was formed to promote candidates who support abortion rights and were members of the opposing Republican Party. In November 1992 after many favored candidates won their races to create the "

Year of the Woman The Year of the Woman was a popular label attached to 1992 after the election of a number of female senators in the United States. The term has also been used with respect to the 2018 House elections, in which a record 103 women were elected, ...

", MacNair announced the formation of the SBA List, describing its purpose as endorsing and supporting women candidates who held anti-abortion beliefs, without regard to party affiliation. MacNair determined to challenge the EMILY's List and the WISH List notion that the top female politicians primarily supported abortion rights. She named Kansas governor Joan Finney and Louisiana Representative

Lindy Boggs Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs (March 13, 1916 – July 27, 2013) was a politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She was the first woman elected to Cong ...

as examples of ideal politicians—liberal women, not candidates holding right-wing beliefs. The NWCL sponsored the SBA List with $2,485 to create it as a political action committee (PAC). The PAC paperwork was initiated on February 4, 1993, listing MacNair as the first secretary; the group operated out of MacNair's office in Kansas City. MacNair founded the group with two other Feminists for Life leaders, Helen Alvaré and Susan Gibbs. After three years, MacNair, Gibbs, and Alvaré moved on to other projects. They were succeeded by experienced political activists Marjorie Dannenfelser and then Jane Abraham, changing the aim of the group away from bipartisan candidates. According to MacNair, "basically what happened is that Republicans took over". The SBA List now endorses male candidates, including anti-abortion men who are running against women who support abortion rights, and also Republican anti-abortion candidates of either sex running against Democratic anti-abortion candidates. Regarding the change of focus, MacNair said, "I was furious... but at that point there was nothing I could do about it."

Psychology of killing

MacNair's doctoral research was on the psychology of killing. She studied soldiers, torturers, executioners, policemen, abortion providers, veterinarians, bullfighters and Nazi records. She pored over the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, analyzed the nearly 1700 questionnaires in a new manner, and found that soldiers who reported having killed someone were more likely to suffer psychological harm. She coined the term "perpetration-induced traumatic stress" (PITS), a form of

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

(PTSD) that may affect those such as soldiers, police and doctors who participate in killing. Thomas L. Murtaugh, Ph.D., the Project Officer, National Center for PTSD, said that MacNair's research was "groundbreaking". In August 2000, MacNair joined PTSD therapist William Chamberlain and Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman (the author of '' On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society'') in a panel discussion about PTSD at a convention of the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involv ...

. In 2002 she published a book: ''Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress: The Psychological Consequences of Killing''. In July 2004, ''The New Yorker'' quoted MacNair regarding PITS; following this, the ''Los Angeles Times'' cited her as an expert on veteran psychology. In October 2004, director

David O. Russell David Owen Russell (born August 20, 1958) is an American filmmaker. His early directing career includes the comedy films ''Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), '' Flirting with Disaster'' (1996), ''Three Kings'' (1999), and ''I Heart Huckabees'' (200 ...

shot footage of MacNair speaking about PTSD and PITS for his documentary '' Soldiers Pay''. Co-director

Juan Carlos Zaldívar Juan Carlos Zaldívar is a filmmaker and video artist who was born in Cuba. Zaldivar has lived in the United States of America since 1980 with directing credits including "90 Miles", which aired nationally on PBS/" P.O.V.", and was featured in t ...

said, "She made really interesting contributions that we think are valid and should be part of the conversation of PTSD today."

Vegetarianism

MacNair is against the killing of animals for food. She became a vegetarian at age 16. She has written about the

ethics of eating meat Conversations regarding the ethics of eating meat are focused on whether or not it is moral to eat non-human animals. Ultimately, this is a debate that has been ongoing for millennia, and it remains one of the most prominent topics in food ethic ...

and about the practices of vegetarianism and

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet (nutrition), diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is kn ...

and has spoken on this topic at several conferences, including the annual NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest.NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest
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Personal life

At age 14 MacNair became a member of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, and is currently a member of the Penn Valley Meeting in Kansas City. In the 1970s and 1980s, MacNair was arrested seven times for protesting nuclear weapons, five times for protesting nuclear power plants, and five times for protesting abortion clinics. She is the mother of a son conceived in 1984 by anonymous

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

. She lives in her childhood home in Kansas City, Missouri.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacNair, Rachel American Quakers American anti-abortion activists American anti–nuclear weapons activists American vegetarianism activists Converts to Quakerism Earlham College alumni Living people Writers from Kansas City, Missouri University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni Place of birth missing (living people) 1958 births American pacifists American anti–nuclear power activists American nonprofit executives American women social scientists Susan B. Anthony List 20th-century Quakers 21st-century Quakers Women nonprofit executives Activists from Missouri Academics from Missouri Quaker feminists