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New evidence of a link between abortion, THE PILL, and breast cancer

A new book by a Pennsylvania pro-life physician, Dr. Chris Kahlenborn, has put together the medical evidence that outlines a strong connection between abortion, the birth control pill, and the worldwide increase in the breast cancer rate over the last 40 years.

In Breast Cancer: Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill, Kahlenborn analyzed hundreds of the most respected medical studies conducted since the 1960s which searched for factors leading to the increased rate of breast cancer.

“Based on the most comprehensive medical evidence available, induced abortion and the birth control pill are both independent risk factors for the development of breast cancer,” said Kahlenborn. “The risk is especially great if the woman has participated in either of these factors at a young age.”

The statistical findings of Kahlenborn’s analysis are alarming. According to these findings, a woman who had an abortion prior to her first full-term pregnancy can have at least a 50 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer. A woman who takes oral contraceptives before her first child is born incurs at least a 40 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer. If she has taken the Pill for four or more years prior to the birth of her first child, her risk factor increases 72 percent.

This evidence shows how devastating the popular medical practice of prescribing birth control pills for teenagers to treat their acne and menstrual problems can be, whether or not they are sexually active. And it also demonstrates how dangerous is the advice of some doctors who recommend taking oral contraceptives to reduce a woman’s risk of developing endometrial or ovarian cancer.

“It may be true that women could lower their risks of those two cancers with long-term oral contraceptive use, but I think what you are seeing is really experimentation on women,” Kahlenborn said. “Today’s researchers and physicians cannot even admit that the Pill causes breast cancer. How can we expect to believe them when they come up with a ‘bigger and better’ birth control Pill?”

In the course of his research, Kahlenborn discovered that no matter how formidable the medical evidence, the politics of reproductive issues like abortion and contraception have played a major role in how these medical studies have been presented to the public and their level of acceptance in the medical community.

But there are signs that at least some of this evidence is slowly gaining respect in prominent medical circles. A link between abortion and breast cancer was recently acknowledged in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. In June, Kahlenborn was invited to testify about his findings before the US Food and Drug Administration. And in July, the US House of Representatives debated the connection between abortion and breast cancer during consideration of an amendment to an appropriations bill that would prohibit the use of federal dollars to finance medical research on abortifacients.

It may take years before the medical community and the public fully acknowledge that some serious health risks could be a consequence of abortion and the birth control pill. In the meantime, thousands of women may jeopardize their health. Kahlenborn said:

A number of years ago, women took DES (Diethylstilbestrol) to prevent miscarriages. Twenty-five years later, the mothers who took DES were noted to have a 35 percent increased risk in breast cancer. A similar phenomenon is occurring with the Pill. In addition, there is an ‘unraised question’ that is critical, namely: Could the children of women who conceive while on the Pill be at long-term risk for developing cancer? For example, the risk of developing testicular cancer is up by 50 percent over the past 25 years. Could the Pill be playing a role here? The scientific community has never even asked this question.

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