Dear Friends:

Republicans for a Fair Media (RFFM) has stepped up to the plate in defense of women's health and honest, objective journalism. Yesterday, Dan Zanoza, RFFM's director, issued a statement about the CBS Evening News program on Thanksgiving Day addressing efforts in a number of state legislatures to enact informed consent legislation and thereby educate women about the abortion-breast cancer link.

Zanoza said, "I have been the director of RFFM for ten years. However, on Thanksgiving night, the CBS Evening News violated nearly every journalistic tenet of objectivity and fairness concerning the reporting of a news story it ran regarding attempts to limit a woman's right to an abortion....This may be the most egregious example of agenda-based journalism RFFM has witnessed in over a decade.""

Zanoza noted that CBS correspondent Cynthia Bowers admitted to me that she is an abortion supporter.  He objected that CBS censored the credentials of an expert, Jeanette Joyce, who was interviewed by Bowers.   Mrs. Joyce is a medical educator, a lecturer and a registered mammography technician who researches and writes courses on breast imaging.

Mrs. Joyce provided her comments concerning her interview with CBS and her disappointment that CBS journalists are so indifferent to the life-threatening breast cancer risk faced by women who have abortions.

She related that CBS misled her about their purpose.  She and I were told that CBS correspondent Cynthia Bowers wanted both sides of the debate to receive "equal time."  Mrs. Joyce was led to believe that she would be able to communicate the message that early detection saves lives and women with abortion histories need to be vigilant about their breast health.

However, the real purpose of the CBS interview (and an earlier Associated Press story) was twofold: 1) To attack efforts to enact informed consent legislation in the states requiring doctors to warn patients about the risks of abortion, including breast cancer; and 2) To erase any notion that abortion causes breast cancer from the public mind. Keeping women in the dark about the research has been standard operating procedure for the last half-century.

The coalition's opponents are deeply worried about the progress that the coalition has made in educating the public about the abortion-breast cancer link.  When this group was first organized five years ago, our opponents struggled to keep any mention of abortion and breast cancer censored in the media.  The CBS program and the Associated Press story on November 9 by Laura Meckler show that our opponents have had to lower that bar considerably because we've done such a thorough job of educating the public.

The program demonstrated that CBS journalists are more worried about protecting the abortion industry than they are about protecting women's lives.  However, it only makes sense that if a journalist, a doctor or other professional doesn't care about a child's life, why would he or she care about the mother's life?

Mrs. Joyce's comments can be read at the web address shown below.

Sincerely,
Karen Malec
Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer

ABORTION-BREAST CANCER NEWS HEADLINES

Women need to listen up about abortion-breast cancer link
By Jeanette Joyce
Illinois Leader
December 1, 2004

http://www.illinoisleader.com/letters/lettersview.asp?c=21168

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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.

Tax-deductible, credit card donations can be made at
www.AbortionBreastCancer.com. Donations can be mailed to: the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, P.O. Box 957133, Hoffman Estates, IL 60195. The IRS recognizes the coalition as a 501(c)3 organization.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Women's Injury Network
www.womensinjurynetwork.org

Breast Cancer Prevention Institute
www.BCPInstitute.org

Polycarp Research Institute
www.polycarp.org