Here's today's press release responding to Waxman's phone call-based science from the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer. You'd better read it here because there's no way you'll hear it from Katie Couric and company. (And after reading through the Coalition's press release, please check out the excellent response to Waxman's committee from the good folks over at CareNet. You'll find that piece right here.)
Democrats' Abortion Politics Trumps Women's Healthcare / Like Tobacco-State Congressmen, Democrats Protect Cancer-Causing Industry, Influence Scientific Decision-Making
The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, a women's group, denounced U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman and other Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee for advancing the interests of the abortion industry at the expense of women's health.
In their recent report, Waxman and other abortion enthusiasts on the committee attacked crisis pregnancy centers, in part because their personnel inform women about research supporting an abortion-breast cancer (ABC) link. [1]
Eight medical organizations acknowledge that abortion leaves women with an increase in cancer-vulnerable tissue. [2] There are two abortion-related cancer risks, but this effect is the only risk that scientists debate.
Yet, Waxman et al. would have women believe political propaganda. They falsely claimed, "There is a medical consensus that there is no causal relationship between abortion and breast cancer."
"Like tobacco-state congressmen, Waxman et al. have worked to protect a cancer-causing industry and influence the U.S. National Cancer Institute's scientific decision-making, without regard for the public health," asserted Karen Malec, the coalition's president. [3]
The cancer establishment already acknowledges another cancer risk resulting from abortion. The American Cancer Society's website says, "Much of the long-term underlying increase in (breast cancer) incidence among women is due to historical changes in reproductive patterns, such as delayed childbearing and having fewer children." [4]
Childbearing protects women from the disease because a third trimester process in pregnancy matures cancer-vulnerable breast tissue into cancer-resistant tissue. This benefit is lost through abortion. Experts, therefore, agree that the woman who has an abortion has a greater risk than does the woman who has a baby.
Even an expert witness for the Center for Reproductive Rights, Dr. Lynn Rosenberg (Boston Medical School), admitted under oath that the 15-year-old who has an abortion has a greater risk than does the 15-year-old who has a baby. [5]
"Why do Waxman and other Democrats on the committee hate women?" asked Malec. "Even the research they cite found a statistically significant 89% risk increase for women who have second trimester abortions." [6]
The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer is an international women's organization founded to protect the health and save the lives of women by educating and providing information on abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer.
References:
1. "Federally Funded Pregnancy Resource Centers Mislead Teens about Abortion Risks," July 17, 2006. Available at: http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1080
2. See www.abortionbreastcancer.com for a list of medical groups recognizing an independent link between abortion and breast cancer.
3. Letter to Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services from Representatives Henry Waxman, Sherrod Brown, Nita Lowey, et al. October 21, 2002.
4. American Cancer Society website visited July 18, 2006. Available at:
5. Rosenberg (1999) NW FL Women's Health v. State of FL, FL Ciorcuit Ct., 2nd circ., videotape deposition of 11/18/99, pp. 77-78.
6. Melbye M, Wohlfahrt J, Olson JH, Frisch M, Westergaard T, Helweg-Larsen K, Andersen PK. Induced abortion and the risk of breast cancer. N Engl J Med 1997;336:81-85.
