David Bardens (born 27 April 1984) is a German physician whose case was reported internationally in 2015 after the district court of

Ravensburg Ravensburg ( Swabian: ''Raveschburg'') is a city in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an imp ...

had ruled that he should get the €100,000 prize money that biologist Stefan Lanka had promised to anyone who could provide information about the existence and size of the

measles virus ''Measles morbillivirus'' (MeV), also called measles virus (MV), is a single-stranded, negative-sense, enveloped, non-segmented RNA virus of the genus '' Morbillivirus'' within the family '' Paramyxoviridae''. It is the cause of measles. Human ...

. This award was overturned by the Higher Regional Court (''Oberlandesgericht'') Stuttgart in 2016. Although six scientific publications were submitted that collectively demonstrated the existence and size of the virus, they failed to meet the exact contest requirements as set by Lanka.

Life

Bardens was born in

Homburg, Saarland Homburg (; french: Hombourg, pfl, Humborch) is a town in Saarland, Germany and the administrative seat of the Saarpfalz district. With a population of 43,029 inhabitants (2022), it is the third largest town in the state. The city offers over ...

. After his service as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objec ...

, Bardens trained as a paramedic in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

. In 2014, he completed the study of medicine at the Saarland University in Homburg with a dissertation on '' laparoscopic

hysterectomy Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. It may also involve removal of the cervix, ovaries ( oophorectomy), Fallopian tubes ( salpingectomy), and other surrounding structures. Usually performed by a gynecologist, a hysterectomy may b ...

: new findings on surgical techniques, influencing factors and postoperative course of pain''. During his studies, he worked as a teacher at a school of midwifery and as a

perfusionist A cardiovascular perfusionist, clinical perfusionist or perfusiologist, and occasionally a cardiopulmonary bypass doctor or clinical perfusion scientist, is a healthcare professional who operates the cardiopulmonary bypass machine (heart–lung m ...

at the German Foundation for Organ Transplantation. Bardens also founded a food company in 2011 in Bremen to sell the anti-hangover lemonade ''freigeist''. He worked after graduation for a short time as an assistant physician at the University's Women's Hospital in Homburg before moving to Sweden where he is currently a general practitioner. Bardens is also the grandson of the former German Member of Parliament Dr. Hans Bardens.

The David Bardens vs. Stefan Lanka law suit

In November 2011, the

anti-vaccinationist Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abo ...

Stefan Lanka guaranteed a prize of €100,000 for proof of the existence of the measles virus, specifically the determination of its diameter. Lanka claims the measles are basically a skin irritation caused by a mixture of psychosomatic triggers and poisoning. Bardens contacted Lanka on 30 January 2012 for confirmation of the contest and eventually provided six publications as an answer to the questions. Legal procedures began on 29 September 2013, when Lanka declared that he would not accept the papers as the desired proof. A first court session took place in April 2014 and ended with the court's decision to halt procedures, to support its judgment with the scientific expertise of Andreas Podbielsky, virologist at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

. The case was continued in March 2015 and ended with the decision in support of Bardens' statements. The court's ruling received global press attention in light of the present, heavy campaigning of anti-vaccination protesters on web forums and in books. Bardens told the press weeks after the court's ruling that he could no longer appear as a public speaker without the protection of bodyguards. Lanka eventually challenged the judgment. The case was re-evaluated at the Higher Regional Court (''

Oberlandesgericht An ''Oberlandesgericht'' (plural – ''Oberlandesgerichte''; OLG, en, Higher Regional Court, or in Berlin ''Kammergericht'': KG) is a higher court in Germany. There are 24 OLGs in Germany and they deal with civil and criminal matters. They a ...

'') Stuttgart on 16 February 2016, where the original judgment was reversed. Six publications were submitted that collectively demonstrated the existence of measles virus and its diameter; however they failed to meet the contest requirements as set by Lanka who had stipulated that both details be covered in a single publication, something that would be unlikely to occur given the narrow focus of individual publications. Bardens commented on the case in an extensive interview on 5 May 2016 and announced his decision to appeal to Germany's Federal Court BGH. In December 2016, Bardens tried to get this ruling revised, but the court saw no reason to do so.

Publications by Bardens

* ''Inhibition of hemoxygenase-1 improves survival after liver resection in jaundiced rats.'' Epub 2009. * * *

References

External links

''Posse: Gericht vertagt Verhandlung im Streit um Masernviren''
Spiegel Online, 10 April 2014.

Spiegel Online, 12 March 2015
''Germany court orders measles sceptic to pay 100,000 euros''
BBC, 12 March 2015
''Measles sceptic ordered to pay doctor €100,000''
The Guardian, 12 March 2015

The New York Times, 12 March 2015
''Sieg der Vernunft''
(Podcast). Interview on Hoaxilla.com, 23 March 2015
One could hand the virus to Lanka on a silver platter… an interview with David Bardens"
a
http://positivists.org
23 March 2015.
''Measles Virus tried at Court : David Bardens vs. Stefan Lanka , case documentation''
a
http://positivists.org
15 May 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardens, David 21st-century German physicians People from Homburg, Saarland Swedish general practitioners 1984 births Living people