THE EXPLOSIVE ABORTION CONTROVERSY

	At the University of Virginia are several faculty who can
provide expert commentary on some of the issues surrounding the
recent abortion clinic shootings.

	James Davison Hunter, author of ÒCulture WarsÓ and the
follow-up ÒBefore the Shooting Begins,Ó probes the moral urgency
surrounding the abortion debate in both books.  The sociology
professor can be reached at (804) 924-6524.

	Richard Bonnie and John Monahan are participants in the
MacArthur Research Network on Mental Health and the Law that is
investigating the risk of violence posed by the mentally disordered
and competency of the mentally disordered to make autonomous
decisions.

	Monahan, author of the 1982 award-winning book ÒClinical
Prediction of Violent Behavior,Ó is co-author of the recently
published ÒViolence and Mental DisorderÓ in which he questions if
mentally ill people are more violent than others and describes how
it may be possible to identify mentally disordered people who have
the potential for violence.  He is the founding president of the
Division of Psychology and Law of the American Psychological
Association.  Bonnie, a law professor and director of the Institute
of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy at U.Va., is at (804)
924-3209.  Monahan, professor of law and psychology and associate
director of the institute, is at (804) 924-3632.

	Janet Warren, who directs the Forensic Evaluation
Information System for the Virginia Department of Mental Health,
Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, studies
hallucinations, delusions and thought disorders that are commonly
associated with clinical opinions that support legal insanity.  An
associate professor of social work and psychiatric medicine who
works closely with the FBIÕs National Center for the Analysis of
Violent Crime, Warren is at (804) 924-8305.

	Attorneys and psychiatrists at U.Va.Õs Institute of Law,
Psychiatry and Public Policy address issues regarding mental
illness, legal insanity and competence to stand trial.  Among those
faculty are Gary L. Hawk, associate professor of psychiatric
medicine, and S.K. Hoge, M.D., associate professor of psychiatric
medicine and law and medical director of the institute.  They can be
reached through the instituteÕs main number, (804) 924-5435.


January 5, 1995