By Bonnie Chernin Rogoff
Founder, Jews For Life

"A woman who finds herself pregnant at age 15 will have a higher breast cancer risk if she chooses to abort that pregnancy than if she carries the pregnancy to term, correct?" "Probably, yes."

(Response of Lynn Rosenberg, Ph.D., Boston Medical School, in sworn testimony as the expert witness for the abortion providers in a case involving Florida's parental notification law, November, 1999)

Heart disease has always been known as the "silent killer," and for good reason. Prior to an attack, the disease develops slowly over many years, and the victim may not even be aware of any imminent danger.

Suppose there were a medical procedure that is known to be a contributing factor to a deadly disease that takes years to develop? What if the relationship between the procedure and the disease had been known for 40 years? What if the doctors performing the procedure knew about the relationship between Procedure A and Disease B, and deliberately withheld information regarding the connection between the two? Would you not feel betrayed, and angry?

There have been class action lawsuits against "Big Tobacco" on the assumption that the industry knew about the association between their products and lung cancer since way back in the 1950's. Since the early 1970's, warning labels appear on every cigarette pack. In clear language, the labels inform users that smoking is a factor in deadly respiratory diseases. Cigarette commercials are long banned. Still, many smokers who began their habit long after the Surgeon General's warnings were included in class action suits despite the fact that they knew the risks when they began smoking.

However, when the issue is legalized abortion, suddenly health does not matter. Safeguarding women from abortion-related disease takes a back seat to political exigency, for nothing is more important to the so-called "pro-choice" groups than the availability of unrestricted abortion, and informed choice is not part of the decision.

Since 1957, a significant number of studies have indicated a strong link between induced abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer. Not surprisingly, the abortion industry and mainstream feminist organizations refute the validity of the studies and deny the link. They promote legal abortion as a safe procedure for women. But exactly how safe is it?

The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer states on their web site:

"29 out of 38 worldwide studies have independently linked abortion with breast cancer. Thirteen out of fourteen of these studies are American studies 'which show a link. Five show more than a twofold elevation in risk. Seventeen are statistically significant."

In 1996, Dr. Joel Brind, Professor of biology and endocrinology at Baruch College and president of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, published his findings after completing a comprehensive meta-analysis, under peer review, of all the worldwide studies to date. His research and analysis of the various studies disclosed a 30% overall elevated breast cancer risk associated with abortion. Dr. Brind's findings are documented, including a discussion of the flawed Danish study supported by the pro-abortion lobby. To read Dr. Brind's informative piece, "Rotten in Denmark," CLICK HERE.

Large Numbers Don't Add Up

The study that has received the most media attention, and has been hailed by abortion sympathizers, is the Danish study conducted by Dr. Mads Melbye. The study is filled with flaws. Many of the subjects were too old for their abortions to be traceable. The Melbye study followed the largest cohort (age) sample of women - 1.5 million - and relies on computer data rather than women's personal recollections. The fact that the sample is large and relies on computerized records is in theory supposed to make the study reliable.

The New England Journal of Medicine, in their Talking Points article on January 9, 1997, indicated some serious errors with the Danish study. The oversights were significant enough to invalidate the usefulness or validity of the conclusions reached by the researchers.

• The study's enormity is exaggerated. Database is highly skewed.
• Of the 1.5 million women studied, 1.2 million have neither exposure to induced abortion nor have developed breast cancer,
• Of the 281,000 women who had induced abortions, most are too young to have developed breast cancer (some are still teenagers),
• Of the 10,000 women who developed breast cancer, most are too old to have their abortion histories on record, since the abortion registry only goes back to 1973 (when the oldest women were 38),

Important data is omitted or de-emphasized:

• Among the women who had abortions as teenagers, the study actually found essentially the same increased risk (29%) as had been reported in Brind et al.'s "Comprehensive Review and Meta-analysis" of 23 worldwide studies, published last October.
• The Melbye [Danish] study actually found a statistically significant ABC link: With each one-week increase in the gestational age of the fetus there was a 3 percent increase in the risk of breast cancer. Women who had an abortion of an 11-12 week fetus showed a 12% higher breast cancer risk, with the risk increase rising to 89% for abortions after 18 weeks (but it wasn't in the study's "Conclusions").
• Much data was missing from the paper: No information was given regarding other indicators that influence breast cancer risk, and we are shown only relative risk data after adjustment for these variables. An unadjusted overall relative risk of 1.44 is adjusted down to 1.00.

By that time, however, his original report had gained nationwide attention by the press, and by pro-abortion groups eager to publicize any information that could convince women abortion is safe. Flaws notwithstanding, the original Melbye study was acclaimed as the final word on the abortion/breast cancer debate. Little attention was called to the statistically significant ABC connection.

The Daling Study

The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer has a separate page on their website highlighting important ABC studies done in recent years. One important study was conducted by Dr. Janet Daling (who is strongly pro-choice) and the results are compelling:

"Dr. Janet Daling, an abortion supporter, and her colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center were commissioned by the National Cancer Institute to do a study on the abortion-breast cancer link. The study found that, "among women who had been pregnant at least once, the risk of breast cancer in those who had experienced an induced abortion was 50% higher than among other women." It was also reported that women under the age of 18 or over the age of 29 who obtained induced abortions had more than a twofold increase in risk. Women with a family history of breast cancer who procured an abortion were reported to have statistically significant risk increases of 80 percent. Teenagers under age 18 with a family history breast cancer who procured abortions had an incalculably high risk increase."

http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/The_Link.htm

The pro-choice groups criticized Dr. Daling, neglecting to mention that she is a strong pro-choice advocate! About the reactions to her research, Dr. Daling had this to say in the September 1997 issue of the L. A. Daily News:

"I have three sisters with breast cancer and I resent people messing with the scientific data to further their own agenda, be they pro-choice or pro-life. I would have loved to have found no association between breast cancer and abortion, but our research is rock solid and our data is accurate."

Ten out of eleven American studies came to the same conclusion: the ABC link is substantiated by the research.

The DOH Spool of Red Tape

Dr. Joel Brind, one of the foremost research experts into the ABC link, and his colleagues have been denied access to fetal death certificates by the New York State Department of Health. The certificates are necessary to conduct a new Abortion/Breast Cancer study. These death certificates were originally made available back in 1970 when abortion was legalized in New York, and were used for a previous ABC link study performed by a DOH epidemiologist (the Howe study). There are clear advantages to using the death certificates. For one thing, researchers don't have to rely on women's recollections, which the pro-abortion advocates claim can result in reporting bias. Also, once a fetal death certificate can be linked to the actual woman who procured the abortion, there can be no doubt regarding the accuracy of the subject's claims as to her "reproductive history."

Dr. Brind was hoping to conduct a similar study using the Holly Howe method, updated to include cancer-afflicted women who spent most of their reproductive years after abortion was legalized. An original law allowing access to fetal death certificates was revised, and for confidentiality reasons, would not be made available. Despite numerous letters, phone calls to different DOH officials, and a change of staff at the top (Commissioner of Health Barbara De Buono was out and the new Commissioner, Dr. Antonia Novello, was in) Dr. Brind got nothing more than a brusque phone conference cut short with the General Counsel to Dr. Novello, and a DOH official. To date, the records have not been released.

Where Are The "Holistic" Doctors?

There is nothing more unnatural and un-holistic than abortion. A woman's body is invaded with foreign metal probing instruments and a baby is forced out, when he or she is perfectly content to continue the natural development in the womb toward birth. That alone should prompt alternative doctors to take action. With few exceptions, they have remained silent. Their objectives are to find natural cures for diseases outside of mainstream medicine. It is baffling that an unnatural procedure contributing to one of the most deadly diseases in women should not raise concern among this group.

As an example, in an article entitled "Breast Cancer Update," the May 2001 issue of the nutrition-oriented "Energy Times" lists every possible risk factor for breast cancer - except the most obvious one.

"Women are at higher risk for breast cancer if they begin to menstruate before age 12, have their first pregnancy after 30 or do not have children, begin menopause after 55, take hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), are obese or don't exercise."

The author, Jeanne Gedeon is a registered dietician. She advises women to "watch out for alcohol which may account for 12% of breast cancer by heightening estrogen…even moderate drinking increases risk," and to "limit weight gain after high school to less than 11 pounds." Also, there is advice to "exercise to cut fat," and to change the diet to include more vegetables, proper monounsaturated fats, etc. All of this is well and good, but nowhere is abortion mentioned as a risk factor for women. Given the extensive studies confirming the ABC link and that this is a "Special Cancer Issue," doesn't the author have a responsibility to readers to disclose the studies?

NOTE: Energy Times Magazine is published monthly out of Long Beach, CA and Melville, NY.

To contact Energy Times and voice your objection to Jeanne Gedeon's omission of the ABC link in her article, their telephone number in New York is 1(631) 777-7773, and their FAX number is 1(631) 755-1064. Publisher and Editor: Gerard McIntee. Group Editor: Carl Lowe.

One prominent physician who combines traditional and complementary medicine in his practice is John R. Lee, M.D., a pioneer in progesterone research for menopausal women. He did acknowledge a link between first pregnancy abortions and breast cancer in his acclaimed book: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, published by Warner Books. Dr. Lee's books and videos may be purchased at his website, http://www.johnleemd.com.

Dead Silence in U.K. about the British Breast Cancer Rise

There has been a similar increase of breast cancer in England. This is probably due to the large number of abortions and delays in childbirth. Here's a partial reprint from an article on Steve Ertelt's Pro-life Infonet, originally published in the Observer:

British Breast Cancer Increase Blamed on Abortion
The Observer (UK); February 25, 2001

London, England -- British women are harboring a breast cancer 'time-bomb' because of the high abortion rate and low number of children. According to a paper to be published shortly by the Royal Statistical Society, the number of cases of malignant breast cancer diagnosed each year will, by 2030, have risen from 30,000 to more than 50,000. The rise in abortions in recent decades, the fall in fertility, and the trend to have first children later in life have already set in place an explosion in the number of women suffering the disease.

Conclusions

Despite the setbacks to pro-lifers, the news is not as grim as several years ago. There are lawsuits on behalf of women who were not provided ABC link information from the clinics. There are websites (like this one!) providing women with facts and options. There are books, and other media, all available through the web.

In a book review on the ABC link, Reverend Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition offered his incisive comments:

"If women and teenage girls read "Breast Cancer: Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill," they might be less likely to choose to kill their unborn children or to engage in promiscuous sex by using an oral contraceptive. But, of course, as long as Planned Parenthood and other powerful abortion lobbies have their way, the killing of unborn children will remain legal, and teens will continue to be encouraged to have premarital sex. After all, when your multi-million dollar business is based on the aborting of babies and the selling of contraceptives, why let a small issue like breast cancer threaten your market share?"

The book to which Reverend Sheldon refers was written by Dr. Chris Kahlenborn, a medical doctor and researcher, who has examined hundreds of cumulative studies on this topic since the 1960's. His findings were startling. Both birth control pills and abortion are independent risk factors in breast cancer, which could explain why the disease is reaching epidemic proportions. He found that 1) An induced abortion prior to a full-term pregnancy may result in a 50 percent increase in breast cancer risk, and 2) a woman who has taken birth control pills prior to a first birth has a 40 percent increased risk. The facts are frightening.

All women reading this article should do the following:

Access - all the information available. Don't rely on the abortion "counselor" in a Planned Parenthood abortion mill to provide it for you. There's the web, the library, and the phone. Make calls to pro-life organizations. At the end of this page there is a list of links - organizations that can provide you the real truth behind the studies. If there is a history of breast cancer in your family, don't make a hasty decision to abort. Do not contact the National Cancer Institute or the American Cancer Society. These organizations (and many other mainstream cancer associations) ignore or deny the ABC link and will probably not be inclined help you.

Beware - of any abortionist or clinic worker that tells you "there is no link to breast cancer." If they were honest, they'd tell you the truth and show you ALL the studies, not just the Melbye study. Abortion is their business; they don't care about women's health.

Consider living alternatives. Adoption is a wonderful option. You'll be giving your baby life, and providing a waiting family the joy of raising your baby. No woman is 100% safe from breast cancer. At least with adoption, you won't have to worry about the most obvious risk that no one wants to talk about, the dreaded ABC link.

For more information, go to my Living Alternatives page. Know your ABC's.

Here's a quote from a Planned Parenthood fact sheet, available on their website. The italics are mine:

"The link between induced abortion and breast cancer is a theory whose principal promoters oppose abortion regardless of its safety. The theory has not been borne out by research. While Planned Parenthood believes that women should have access to information about all factors that influence the risk of disease, PPFA also believes that women deserve information that is medically substantiated and untainted by a political agenda."

Let's be clear on this: Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the country. They run a multi-billion dollar business just from performing abortions. They are the ones "tainted by a political agenda." That's the reason they are willing to deceive American women and turn them into politically expendable guinea pigs. Abortion must remain legal, even if it kills.

Next time anyone repeats the famous mantra: "If you don't like abortion, don't have one," ignore them. It's not an insular issue, or an individual choice. If someone you love or care about is contemplating an abortion…a friend, sister, or even a co-worker…you certainly wouldn't want to deprive them of information that could save their lives.

© 2004 Jews For Life

*Please feel free to reprint this article and the links below for discussion and review.

Important Links on the ABC Link:

Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer
Website: http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com
P.O. Box 152
Palos Heights, IL 60463
Toll free: 1(877) 803-0102
E-Mail: response@abortionbreastcancer.com

The mission and purpose of this international women's organization, according to their website, "is to protect the health and save the lives of women by educating and providing information on abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer." They formed in May, 1999 by a group of women in the Chicago area who were concerned that the facts about the ABC link were not being reported by anti-cancer organizations and physicians. Highly Recommended.

American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Website: www.aaplog.org
844 South Washington, Suite 1600
Holland, MI 49423
Phone: 616-546-2639

AAPLOG has posted a position statement about the ABC link on its website

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
1601 N. Tucson Blvd., Suite 9
Tucson, AZ 85716-3450
Phone: 520-323-3110

"The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons believes that patients have the right to give or withhold fully informed consent before undergoing medical treatment. This includes notification of potential adverse effects. While there is a difference of medical opinion concerning the abortion breast cancer link, there is a considerable volume of evidence supporting this link, which is, moreover, highly plausible. We believe that a reasonable person would want to be informed of the existence of this evidence before making her decision."

Jane Orient, MD
Executive Director

October 27, 2003

Read Mrs. Malec's article, "The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link: How Politics Trumped Science and Informed Consent," in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons:   The ABC Link

Breast Cancer Prevention Institute
Website: http://www.bcpinstitute.org
9 Vassar St.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Phone: (845) 452-0797

Catholic Medical Association
Website: http://www.cathmed.org
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, #864
Washington, DC 20006
Toll Free: 1-877-CATHDOC (877-228-4362)

"Whereas epidemiological evidence of an association between abortion and breast cancer has existed for almost a half century, "Whereas 29 our of 38 worldwide epidemiological studies show an increased risk of breast cancer of approximately 30% among women who have had an abortion, "Whereas all women undergoing abortion are entitled to full informed consent as to all risks including long term risks, "Therefore be it resolved that the Catholic Medical Association endorses the passage of state legislation to require abortionists to inform all women of their future increased vulnerability to breast cancer."

Resolution Approved 10/15/03

John Kindley, J.D.
Website: http://www.johnkindley.com
E-Mail: jkindley@proinformation.net

From his website: John Kindley is a Wisconsin licensed attorney whose special interest is consumer protection law litigation. A member of the Wisconsin Law Review, Mr. Kindley's interest in the abortion-breast cancer link is what encouraged him to work full-time on raising public awareness into the issue through civil litigation. Mr. Kindley is the lead counsel in a lawsuit against the Red River Women's Clinic, an abortion provider in Fargo, North Dakota, who failed to disclose the scientific evidence of the ABC link in the brochures they distributed to patients.

National Physicians Center for Family Resources
Website: http://www.physicianscenter.org
P.O. Box 59692
Birmingham, AL 35259
Phone: (205) 870-0234

The National Physicians Center for Family Resources offers a CD intended for parents and health educators which cites "increased breast cancer risk" as a "long-term complication of abortion" and offers a biological explanation for the abortion-breast cancer link. The CD is entitled, "Prescriptions for Parents: A Physicians' Guide to Adolescence and Sex."

The Polycarp Research Institute
Website: http://www.polycarp.org
2232 Second Avenue
Altoona, PA 16602

Highly Recommended:

Americans United for Life - http://www.unitedforlife.org
Concerned Women For America - http://www.cwfa.org 
National Right To Life - http://www.nrlc.org
Pro-life News - http://www.lifenews.com