The abortion–breast cancer hypothesis posits that having an induced
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 pregn ...
can increase the risk of getting
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
. This hypothesis is at odds with mainstream scientific opinion and is rejected by major medical professional organizations; despite this, it continues to be widely propagated as
pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...
, typically in service of an
anti-abortion agenda.
In early
pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...
,
hormone
A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...
levels increase, leading to
breast
The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues.
In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...
growth. The hypothesis proposes that if this process is altered by an abortion, then more immature cells could be left behind, and that these immature cells could increase the risk of breast cancer over time.
The abortion–breast cancer hypothesis has been the subject of extensive scientific inquiry, and the
scientific community
The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many " sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are als ...
has concluded that abortion does not cause breast cancer and that breast cancer should not be a concern for women who are having a
miscarriage
Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
or considering having an abortion. This
consensus is supported by major medical bodies,
including the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
,
the U.S.
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
,
the
American Cancer Society,
the
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
the
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that ...
,
the
German Cancer Research Center
The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres ...
,
and the
Canadian Cancer Society
The Canadian Cancer Society (french: Société canadienne du cancer) is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada.
History
The idea to form the Canadian Cancer Society origin ...
.
Some
anti-abortion activists have continued to advance a discredited causal link between abortion and breast cancer.
In the United States, they have advanced
state legislation that in several
states requires health care providers to present abortion as a cause of breast cancer when counseling women who are seeking abortion.
This political intervention culminated when the
George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
altered the
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
website to suggest that abortion might cause breast cancer.
In response to public concern over this intervention, the NCI convened a 2003 workshop bringing together over 100 experts on the issue. This workshop concluded that while some studies reported a
statistical correlation between breast cancer and abortion,
the strongest scientific evidence
from large
prospective cohort studies
A cohort study is a particular form of longitudinal study that samples a cohort (a group of people who share a defining characteristic, typically those who experienced a common event in a selected period, such as birth or graduation), performing ...
demonstrates that abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk,
and that the positive findings were likely due to
response bias
Response bias is a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions. These biases are prevalent in research involving participant self-report, such as structured interviews or surveys. R ...
.
The ongoing promotion of a link between abortion and breast cancer is seen by others as part of the anti-abortion "woman-centered" strategy against abortion.
[ Anti-abortion groups maintain they are providing information necessary for legally required informed consent,] a concern shared by some politically conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
politicians. The abortion–breast cancer issue remains the subject of political controversy.
Views of medical organizations
Major medical organizations which have analyzed data on abortion and breast cancer have uniformly concluded that abortion does not cause breast cancer. These organizations include the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
, the U.S. National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
, the American Cancer Society, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that ...
, the German Cancer Research Center
The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres ...
, and the Canadian Cancer Society
The Canadian Cancer Society (french: Société canadienne du cancer) is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada.
History
The idea to form the Canadian Cancer Society origin ...
.
* The World Health Organization concluded in 2012 that "sound epidemiological data show no increased risk of breast cancer for women following spontaneous or induced abortion", updating their earlier finding that "induced abortion does not increase breast cancer risk".
* The American Cancer Society concluded: "At this time, the scientific evidence does not support the notion that abortion of any kind raises the risk of breast cancer or any other type of cancer."
* The U.S. National Cancer Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
, found that "induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk", assigning this conclusion the strongest possible evidence rating.
* The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that "early studies of the relationship between prior induced abortion and breast cancer risk were methodologically flawed. More rigorous recent studies demonstrate no causal relationship between induced abortion and a subsequent increase in breast cancer risk."
* The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists reviewed the medical literature and concluded that "there is no established link between induced abortion or miscarriage and development of breast cancer." The College recommended in its official clinical practice guidelines that "Women should be informed that induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk."
* The German Cancer Research Center concluded in 2013 that abortion and miscarriage pose no risk of breast cancer.
* The Canadian Cancer Society stated in 2013: "The body of scientific evidence does not support an association between abortion and increased breast cancer risk."
Proponents
Joel Brind
Joel Lewis Brind is a professor of human biology and endocrinology at Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York ...
, a faculty member at Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...
in the Department of Natural Sciences, is the primary advocate of an abortion–breast cancer ("ABC") link. Brind is strongly anti-abortion and began lobbying politicians with the claim that abortion caused breast cancer in the early 1990s. Brind found that his lobbying efforts were not taken seriously because he had not published his findings in the peer-reviewed medical literature. He therefore collaborated with two anti-abortion physicians and a statistician to publish a 1996 article in the ''Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health'', arguing that induced abortion was a risk factor for breast cancer. The statistician who collaborated with Brind later stated of their findings: "I have some doubts. I don't think the issue has been resolved. When we were talking about the conclusions, he rindwanted to make the strongest statements. I tried to temper them a little bit, but Dr. Brind is very adamant about his opinion."
Brind's paper was criticized in the ''Journal of the National Cancer Institute'' for ignoring the role of response bias
Response bias is a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions. These biases are prevalent in research involving participant self-report, such as structured interviews or surveys. R ...
and for a " blurring of association with causation." The amount of attention the study received prompted a cautionary editorial by a JECH editor. With the appearance of larger studies contradicting Brind's finding, Brind failed to convince the scientific community that abortion caused breast cancer. In 2003, Brind was invited to the NCI workshop on abortion and breast cancer, where he was the only one to formally dissent from the workshop's finding that there is no link between the two. Brind blames the lack of support for his findings on a conspiracy, arguing that the NCI and other major medical organizations are engaged in a "cover-up" for the purpose of "protecting the abortion industry".
Proposed mechanism
In early pregnancy, levels of estrogen
Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal acti ...
, progesterone
Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the m ...
, and estradiol
Estradiol (E2), also spelled oestradiol, is an estrogen steroid hormone and the major female sex hormone. It is involved in the regulation of the estrous and menstrual female reproductive cycles. Estradiol is responsible for the development o ...
increase, leading to breast growth in preparation for lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...
. Proponents speculate that if this process is interrupted by an abortion or miscarriage—before full maturity (differentiation) in the third trimester—then more immature cells could be left than there were prior to the pregnancy. These immature cells could then be exposed to carcinogens and hormones over time, resulting in a greater potential risk of breast cancer. This mechanism was first proposed and explored in rat studies conducted in the 1980s.
Breast tissue contains many lobe
Lobe may refer to:
People with the name
* Lobe (surname)
Science and healthcare
* Lobe (anatomy)
* Lobe, a large-scale structure of a radio galaxy
* Glacial lobe, a lobe-shaped glacier
* Lobation, a characteristic of the nucleus of certain biolo ...
s (segments) and these contain lobules which are groups of breast cells. There are four types of lobules:
*Type 1 has 11 ductules (immature)
*Type 2 has 47 ductules (immature)
*Type 3 has 80 ductules (mature, fewer hormone receptor
A hormone receptor is a receptor molecule that binds to a specific chemical messenger . Hormone receptors are a wide family of proteins made up of receptors for thyroid and steroid hormones, retinoids and Vitamin D, and a variety of other receptors ...
s)
*Type 4 are fully matured (cancer resistant) and contain breast milk
During early pregnancy, type 1 lobules quickly become type 2 lobules because of changes in estrogen and progesterone levels. Maturing into type 3 and then reaching full differentiation as type 4 lobules requires an increase of human placental lactogen
Human placental lactogen (hPL), also called human chorionic somatomammotropin (HCS), is a polypeptide placental hormone, the human form of placental lactogen (chorionic somatomammotropin). Its structure and function are similar to those of human ...
(hPL) which occurs in the last few months of pregnancy. According to the abortion–breast cancer hypothesis, if an abortion were to interrupt this sequence then it could leave a higher ratio of type 2 lobules than existed prior to the pregnancy. Russo and Russo have shown that mature breast cells have more time for DNA repair
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA dam ...
with longer cell cycle
The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in a cell that cause it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the duplication of its DNA (DNA replication) and some of its organelles, and sub ...
s, accounting for the slightly reduced risk of breast cancer for parous women against the baseline risk for women who have never conceived and those who have conceived and terminated their pregnancies.
Later on, Russo ''et al.'' found that placental human chorionic gonadotropin
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone for the maternal recognition of pregnancy produced by trophoblast cells that are surrounding a growing embryo (syncytiotrophoblast initially), which eventually forms the placenta after implantation ...
(hCG) induces the synthesis of inhibin
Activin and inhibin are two closely related protein complexes that have almost directly opposite biological effects. Identified in 1986, activin enhances FSH biosynthesis and secretion, and participates in the regulation of the menstrual ...
by the mammary epithelium. Bernstein ''et al.'' independently observed a reduced breast cancer risk when women were injected with hCG for weight loss or infertility treatment
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes o ...
. Contrary to the ABC hypothesis, Michaels ''et al.'' hypothesize since hCG plays a role in cellular differentiation and may activate apoptosis
Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes incl ...
, as levels of hCG increase early on in human pregnancy, "an incomplete pregnancy of short duration might impart the benefits of a full-term pregnancy and thus reduce the risk of breast cancer."
History
The first study involving statistics on abortion and breast cancer was a broad study in 1957 examining common cancers in Japan. The researchers were cautious about drawing any conclusions from their unreliable methodologies. During the 1960s several studies by Brian MacMahon
Brian MacMahon (23 August 1923 – 5 December 2007) was a British-born American epidemiologist who chaired the Department of Epidemiology of the Harvard School of Public Health from 1958 until 1988. Best known for his work on the epidemiology o ...
''et al.'' in Europe and Asia touched on a correlation between abortion and breast cancer. Their 1973 paper published in the ''Journal of the National Cancer Institute'' inaccurately concluded that "where a relationship was observed, abortion was associated with increased, not decreased, risk." Research relevant to the current ABC discussion focuses on more recent large cohort studies
A cohort study is a particular form of longitudinal study that samples a cohort (a group of people who share a defining characteristic, typically those who experienced a common event in a selected period, such as birth or graduation), performing ...
, a few meta-analyses
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting m ...
, many case-control studies, and several early experiments with rats
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
.
Rat models
Russo & Russo from the Fox Chase Cancer Center
Fox Chase Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center research facility and hospital located in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The main facilities of the center are loca ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
conducted a study in 1980 examining the proposed correlation between abortion and breast cancer. While analysing the effects of the carcinogen 7,12-Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene
7,12-Dimethylbenz 'a''nthracene (DMBA) is an immunosuppressor and a powerful organ-specific laboratory carcinogen. DMBA is widely used in many research laboratories studying cancer. DMBA serves as a tumor initiator. Tumor promotion Tumor promo ...
(DMBA) on the DNA labeling index (DNA-LI) in terminal end buds (TEBs), terminal ducts (TDs) and alveolar buds (ABs) of Sprague-Dawley rats in various stages of reproductive development, they found that rats who had interrupted pregnancies had no noticeable increase in risk for cancer. However, they did find that pregnancy and lactation provided a protective measure against various forms of benign lesions, such as hyperplastic alveolar nodules and cysts. While results did suggest that rats who had interrupted pregnancies might be subject to "similar or even higher incidence of benign lesions" than virgin rats, there was no evidence to suggest that abortion would result in a higher incidence of carcinogenesis. A more thorough examination of the phenomenon was conducted in 1982, confirming the results. A later study in 1987 further explained their previous findings. After differentiation of the mammary gland
A mammary gland is an exocrine gland in humans and other mammals that produces milk to feed young offspring. Mammals get their name from the Latin word ''mamma'', "breast". The mammary glands are arranged in organs such as the breasts in pri ...
resulting from a full-term pregnancy of the rat, the rate of cell division decreases and the cell cycle length increases, allowing more time for DNA repair
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA dam ...
.
Despite the fact that the Russos' studies found similar risk rates between virgin and pregnancy interrupted rats, their research would be used to support the contention that abortion created a greater risk of breast cancer for the next twenty years. However, because rats do not exhibit naturally occurring breast cancer, the extrapolation of these results to human abortion and breast cancer is viewed as dubious.
Epidemiological evidence
The results of prospective cohort studies on the relationship between abortion and breast cancer have been consistently negative. Such studies are considered more reliable than retrospective studies and case-control studies. The positive association between abortion and breast cancer risk observed in case-control studies may be accounted for by recall bias
Recall may refer to:
* Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop
* Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure
* ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning
* Recall (memory)
* ''Recall'' (Overwatc ...
.
In 1996, Brind et al. published a meta-analysis of 23 studies which reported a positive association existed between induced abortion and breast cancer risk. The authors estimated the relative risk of breast cancer among women who had had an induced abortion to be 1.3, compared to women who had not had an abortion. It was criticized by other researchers for multiple reasons, including allegations that it failed to account for publication bias (positive studies tend to be more likely to be published). The meta-analysis was also criticized because the studies it included were almost all case-control studies, which are susceptible to recall bias, and for which it is difficult to select an appropriate control group.
In 1997, Wingo et al. reviewed 32 studies on the abortion-breast cancer relationship and concluded that the results of studies on this subject were too inconsistent to allow for definitive conclusions, for either induced or spontaneous abortions.
A 2004 analysis of data from 53 studies involving 83,000 women with breast cancer reported no increased risk among women who had had either an induced or spontaneous abortion. The relative risk of breast cancer for women who had a spontaneous abortion in this analysis was 0.98, and that for induced abortion was 0.93.
A 2015 systematic review
A systematic review is a Literature review, scholarly synthesis of the evidence on a clearly presented topic using critical methods to identify, define and assess research on the topic. A systematic review extracts and interprets data from publ ...
and meta-analysis
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...
of prospective studies found insufficient evidence to support an association between induced or spontaneous abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer.
Politicization
By the late 1980s, national politicians recognized that a focus on reducing access to abortion was not a winning political strategy. Some anti-abortion activists grew more aggressive and violent in the face of political abandonment, culminating with the murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of Dr. David Gunn in 1993 and the passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE or the Access Act, Pub. L. No. 103-259, 108 Stat. 694) (May 26, 1994, ) is a United States law that was signed by President Bill Clinton in May 1994, which prohibits the following three things: ...
in 1994. With direct action discredited, anti-abortion organizations, including the National Right to Life Committee
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
Since the 1980s, NRLC has influen ...
, came to the forefront of the movement. These focused on legal tactics, including lobbying against late-term abortions and access to mifepristone
Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days of p ...
and demanding legislation based on the purported ABC link. More recently, anti-abortion organizations have turned to lobbying to increase obstacles to abortion, such as mandated counseling, waiting periods, and parental notification, and some feel that anti-abortion advocates treat ABC as simply another tactic in their campaign against abortion. There have been ongoing and incremental legal challenges to abortion in the United States by anti-abortion groups. In 2005, a Canadian anti-abortion organization put up billboards in Alberta with large pink ribbon
The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Pink ribbons, and the color pink in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the breast cancer brand and express moral support for women with breast cancer. Pink ribb ...
s and the statement: "Stop the Cover-Up", in reference to the ABC hypothesis. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation was a charitable organization which raised money to advance research, education, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Established in 1986 by Nancy Tsai (then known as Nancy Paul), it worked to fund, suppor ...
was concerned by the misrepresentation of the state of scientific knowledge on the subject.
The continued focus on the ABC hypothesis by anti-abortion groups has fostered a confrontational political environment. Anti-abortion advocates and scientists alike have responded with criticisms. The claims by anti-abortion advocates are sometimes referred to as pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...
.
During the late 1990s, several members of the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
became involved in the ABC issue. In a 1998 hearing on cancer research, U.S. Representative Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...
accused the National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
of misleading the public by selectively releasing data. In 1999, shortly after the House debated FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
approval of the abortion drug mifepristone
Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days of p ...
, U.S. Representative Dave Weldon
David Joseph Weldon (born August 31, 1953) is an American politician and physician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination in Flori ...
wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter, enclosing an article from John Kindley. In it, Weldon expressed concern that the majority of studies indicated a possible ABC link and that politicization was "preventing vital information from being given to women."
, abortion counseling materials in Alaska, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas incorrectly assert a possible link between abortion and breast cancer, while Minnesota materials correctly report no link. Similar legislation requiring notification has also been introduced in 14 other states. An editor for the ''American Journal of Public Health
The ''American Journal of Public Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed public health journal published by the American Public Health Association that covers health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated miss ...
'' expressed concern that these bills propose warnings that do not agree with established scientific findings.
Bioethicist Jacob M. Appel argues that the mandatory disclosure statutes might be unconstitutional on "rational basis
In U.S. constitutional law, rational basis review is the normal standard of review that courts apply when considering constitutional questions, including due process or equal protection questions under the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendmen ...
" grounds. Childbirth is significantly more dangerous than abortion, data that is not required in any disclosure law but which is necessary for a meaningful understanding of risks. According to Appel, " the roughly fifty million abortions that have occurred in the United States since ''Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' had all ended in full-term deliveries, approximately five hundred additional women would have died during childbirth."
In May 2017, President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
appointed Charmaine Yoest, an anti-abortion activist and proponent of the abortion-breast cancer link, to the post of assistant secretary for public affairs in the Department of Health And Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
.
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
(NCI) has been a target of the anti-abortion movement for the conclusions presented on its website. A report from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform found that in November 2002 the Bush administration had altered the NCI website. The previous NCI analysis had concluded that, while some question regarding an association between abortion and breast cancer existed prior to the mid-1990s, a number of large and well-regarded studies had resolved the issue in the negative. The Bush administration removed this analysis and replaced it with the following:
This alteration, which suggested that there was scientific uncertainty on the ABC issue, prompted an editorial in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' describing it as an "egregious distortion" and a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...
from members of Congress. In response to the alteration the NCI convened a three-day consensus workshop entitled ''Early Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer'' on 24–26 February 2003. The workshop concluded that induced abortion does not increase a woman's risk of breast cancer, and that the evidence for this had been well established. Afterwards, the director of epidemiology research for the American Cancer Society stated, " is issue has been resolved scientifically ... This is essentially a political debate."
Brind was the only attendee at the workshop to file a dissenting opinion as a minority report criticizing the conclusions. He contends the workshop evidence and findings were overly controlled by its organizers and that the time allotted was too short for a thorough review of the literature.
North Dakota lawsuit
In January 2000, Amy Jo Kjolsrud (née Mattson), an anti-abortion counselor, sued the Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo, North Dakota, alleging false advertising. The suit, ''Kjolsrud v. MKB Management Corporation'', alleged that the clinic was misleading women by distributing a brochure quoting a National Cancer Institute fact sheet on the ABC hypothesis. The brochure stated:
The case was originally scheduled for 11 September 2001, but was delayed as a result of the terrorist attacks
The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people.
Definitions of terrori ...
. On 25 March 2002, the trial began. After four days of testimony, Judge Michael McGuire ruled in favor of the clinic.
Linda Rosenthal
Linda B. Rosenthal (born November 12, 1957) represents District 67 as a Democrat in the New York State Assembly, which includes parts of Manhattan's Upper West Side and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen neighborhoods.
Early life
Linda Rosenthal was b ...
, an attorney from the Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal advocacy organization that seeks to advance reproductive rights, such as abortion. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental huma ...
characterized the decision as a rejection of "scare tactics". John Kindley, one of the lawyers representing Kjolsrud, highlighted the "individual's right to self-determination". Kindley also wrote a 1998 ''Wisconsin Law Review
The ''Wisconsin Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review published by students at the University of Wisconsin Law School. One issue each year is generally dedicated to a symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον '' ...
'' article outlining the viability of medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The neglige ...
lawsuits based upon not informing patients considering abortion about the ABC hypothesis.
The decision was appealed and on 23 September 2003 the North Dakota Supreme Court
The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts.
Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...
ruled that Kjolsrud did not have standing
Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...
and affirmed the lower court ruling dismissing the action. The appeal said that Kjolsrud had not read the materials, and that after the lawsuit was filed, the brochures were updated to refute the breast cancer link, citing the National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
.
References
External links
National Cancer Institute: Abortion, Miscarriage, and Breast Cancer Risk
a fact sheet from the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
Abortion and Breast Cancer Risk
from the American Cancer Society
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Finds No Link Between Abortion and Breast Cancer Risk
*
The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion
from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that ...
Discover Magazine: The Scientist Who Hated Abortion
by Barry Yeoman
*
Factors That Do Not Increase Risk
from the Susan G. Komen Foundation
Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States.
Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abortion-Breast Cancer Hypothesis
Medical controversies
Anti-abortion movement
Breast cancer
Pseudoscience