An April 12, 2007, article by Stephanie Simon in the Los Angeles Times claimed that "national cancer experts" have found no link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer (ABC = "Abortion-Breast Cancer").
The truth:
- 29 out of 41 worldwide studies reveal an ABC link. (See "The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link" by Angela Lanfranchi, MD, FACS)
- "There are 17 statistically significant studies that show a link between abortion and breast cancer, 8 of which were conducted in the United States." ("Scientists must show with 95 percent certainty that the results in their studies could not have occurred by chance alone.") (emphasis mine) (From "The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link" by Angela Lanfranchi, MD, FACS. A list of the 17 studies are in Dr. Lanfranchi's footnotes.)
- "As of 2006, eight medical organizations recognize that abortion raises a woman's risk for breast cancer, independently of the risk of delaying the birth of a first child (a secondary effect that all experts already acknowledge). An additional medical organization, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, issued a statement in 2003 calling on doctors to inform patients about a 'highly plausible' relationship between abortion and breast cancer." (See AbortionBreastCancer.com) (emphasis mine)
- It is "estimated that upwards of 10,000 cases of breast cancer each year presently, and up to over 25,000 per year in twenty or thirty years hence, are or will be attributable to induced abortion." (emphasis mine) ("The Abortion–Breast Cancer Connection" by Joel Brind)
Many abortion defenders point to a 2003 "workshop" conducted by the National Cancer Institute that denied the ABC link. However, the NCI meeting has been tagged as a "scam." Rather than seeking the truth, it was perceived that "eradicating the ABC link was really the sole purpose of the meeting." (Source) (See also these important notes from the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute.) Recent studies that deny an ABC link have also been found to be seriously flawed and deficient. (See here and here.)
From Stephanie Simon's article in the Los Angeles Times (emphasis mine):
Minnesota is also among several states that compel doctors to inform women that abortion may be linked to breast cancer, though national cancer experts have found no such connection.
The Times clearly owes its readers a correction.
In addition, this is the second time in recent months that Ms. Simon has stated her claim, even though we addressed the issue in this February 2007 NewsBusters post.
[Correction, 4/17/07: I originally wrote above, 'Recent studies that assert an ABC link have also been found to be seriously flawed and deficient.' Hopefully, from the context of the article, you can see that I meant to write, 'Recent studies that deny an ABC link have also been found to be seriously flawed and deficient.' Thank you to a reader for pointing out the error to me.]
