ABORTION-BREAST CANCER LINK STUDIOUSLY IGNORED
BABETTE FRANCIS, JULY 24, 2010
Induced abortion increases a woman’s risk of breast
cancer, according to three studies published last year in Turkey, China
and the United States.
On January 29 this year, Endeavour Forum’s research officer, Gabrielle
Whiting, wrote to Professor Ian Olver (member of the advisory council
of Cancer Australia and CEO of the Cancer Council of Australia) and to
David Hill (director of the Cancer Council of Victoria), drawing their
attention to this research and asking why they were not informing women.
As Miss Whiting received no reply from any of these cancer organisations
for over four months, despite a further letter requesting a response,
Endeavour Forum asked Victorian upper house MP, Peter Kavanagh (Democratic
Labor Party, Western Victoria), to raise the matter in Parliament. He
duly did so on June 9, raising an adjournment matter for the Victorian
Minister of Health, Daniel Andrews, concerning “the apparent link
between abortion and breast cancer”. Mr Kavanagh said: “During
the abortion debate in this Parliament in late 2008 I went into considerable
detail, listing some of the scientific evidence which demonstrates that
having an abortion increases a woman’s risk of developing breast
cancer. Even more recent scientific studies released in 2009 confirm such
a link. “Concerned Victorians who have some expertise in these matters
have reported to me that they have approached various health organisations
and health leaders in Victoria to alert them to the latest research, but
they have not received any acknowledgement or any other kind of response.
“The submitted research includes the following: Ozmen V. and others
“Breast cancer risk factors in Turkish women” in the World Journal
of Surgical Oncology, 2009; 7:37; Xing P. and others in “A case-control
study of reproductive factors associated with subtypes of breast cancer
in northeast China” in Medical Oncology, e-publication online, September
2009; Dolle J. and others “Risk factors for triple-negative breast
cancer in women under the age of 45 years” in Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers
Prev 2009: 18(4), pages 1157-1166.
“Apparently these important warnings are being ignored by the health
authorities to which they are being reported. It seems difficult to avoid
the conclusion that ideological commitment to unrestricted abortion may
be preventing a proper assessment of the health risks of abortion. “The
action I seek from the Minister is that he seek an objective review of
the evidence of a relationship between abortions and breast cancer risk,
and if such a link is shown to exist, to issue medical warnings along
these lines, even if this has the effect of reducing the number of abortions.”
[Legislative Council: Hansard (Victoria), June 9, 2010, p.87].
Perhaps coincidentally, a couple of days later, Miss Whiting received
a reply from Paul Grogan, director of advocacy for Cancer Council Australia,
offering the same old excuses for why CCA does not warn women of their
increased risk of breast cancer caused by abortion.
• First, he cited a meta-analysis published in the medical journal
Lancet in 2004, which found no link. However, Dr Joel Brind, a professor
of biology and endocrinology with the US-based Breast Cancer Prevention
Institute, has examined this analysis and found it deeply flawed because
the authors were very selective in which studies they included. But in
any case, how could a meta-analysis of 2004 apply to three new studies
in 2009?
• Second, Mr Grogan cited the hoary old theory of “response
bias” to explain studies which do show a link between abortion and
breast cancer. This theory claims that women with breast cancer tell the
truth about their abortions while healthy women lie. This is not only
insulting to healthy women, but there is no proof of such a bias.
In 2010, yet another study has been published, this time from Sri Lanka,
indicating that women who have abortions triple their risk of breast cancer,
and that breastfeeding for several months reduces the risk. The study
focused on analysing the association between the duration
of breastfeeding and the risk of breast cancer. But the researchers also
reported other “significant” risk factors for breast cancer,
such as passive smoking and being post-menopausal. The highest of the
reported risk factors was abortion. The study, entitled “Prolonged
breastfeeding reduces risk of breast cancer in Sri Lankan women: A case-control
study,” was led by Malintha De Silva and colleagues from the University
of Colombo.
The researchers found that, among women who breastfed for between 12-23
months, there was a 66.3 per cent risk reduction in comparison to those
who had never breastfed and those who breastfed for between 0 and 11 months.
The risk reduction climbed to 87.4 per cent for those who breastfed for
24-35 months and 94 per cent among women who breastfed for 36-47 months.
We are waiting in breathless anticipation for the Cancer Council Australia’s
explanation of this one.
Babette Francis, B.Sc. (Hons), is national coordinator of Endeavour
Forum Inc.
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