Dear Friends:

The Journal of Medical Ethics published the results of a study by Priscilla Coleman and her colleagues showing that most women want to be given complete information about the risks of elective medical treatments (including abortion), and they want to learn about available treatment alternatives. [1]

Women's preferences in favor of being fully informed of all risks, however, conflict with the preferences of the nation's gatekeepers of medical information - the medical, scientific and media elite, who would rather keep women in the dark.

Researchers surveyed 187 patients seeking obstetric or gynaecological services at a Milwaukee hospital and studied their preferences for information concerning sterilisation or tubal ligation, infertility treatments, abortion, and spinal block for pain during delivery.   

Ninety-five percent of the study's respondents indicated that they preferred to be informed of all risks of a procedure.  Sixty-five percent wanted to be told about possible alternatives.

Researchers attempted to determine how much risk women were willing to accept before it would influence their decision whether or not to go ahead with an elective medical treatment whose complications the respondents had rated as "moderately severe" and whose adverse effects lasted six months or longer.

Most respondents rated breast cancer highly as a serious complication and indicated that it would impact their decision whether or not to undergo an elective procedure. 

Thirty-six percent of the subjects said their decision whether to undergo an elective procedure would be influenced if a "moderately severe" complication involved as little as a 10% increase in risk; 18.5% of the subjects said a 25% increased risk would impact their decision; 27% said a 50% increased risk would be relevant to their decision; 18.5% said their decisions would not be altered unless there was a 100% increase in risk.

The survey by Coleman et al. demonstrates that the nation's scientific, medical and media elite are out-of-step with the larger population.  Women do not want critical health information to be censored.

Last month, the Institute of Medicine listed "prior first trimester abortion" as a risk factor for having a subsequent premature birth.  Even though the report links premature birth with cerebral palsy and neonatal deaths, only radio news networks have informed women about the abortion-premature birth link.  The print press is unjustifiably silent about this serious complication of abortion.

On that note, we are distributing (below) an open letter to the Chicago Tribune concerning an article published on August 22 that discussed a study whose authors claimed they found a genetic link to premature birth.

Who is paying for the terrifically high costs of premature birth in the U.S. - at least $26.2 billion in 2005?  Taxpayers, health insurance policyholders, doctors and hospitals.

Spread the word.  If you agree that life-saving medical information should not be censored, then send us a donation so that we can continue to educate the group at greatest risk for premature births and breast cancer if they have abortions - teenagers.

Check out our letter to the Chicago Tribune below.

Sincerely,
Karen Malec
Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer

References:

1. PK Coleman, DC Reardon, MB Lee, "Women's preferences for information and complication seriousness ratings related to elective medical procedures," Journal of Medical Ethics, 32:435-438 (2006

ABORTION-BREAST CANCER NEWS HEADLINES

An Open Letter to the Editors of the Chicago Tribune

Regarding: "Scientists find genetic link to preemies,"
By Judith Graham, August 22, 2006

Dear editors:

In Judith Graham's 8/22 article on preemies, she referred to a report from the Institute of Medicine which cited a 30 percent increase in the rate of premature births nationwide between 1981 and 2004.  However, a genetic link to premature birth among African Americans would not explain the nationwide increase.

Did Ms. Graham read the list of "immutable medical risk factors associated with preterm birth" that was provided in the report? See:
http://darwin.nap.edu/books/030910159X/html/519.htm

Women have a right to know that the report lists "prior first trimester induced abortion" as one of the risk factors for premature birth.  The frequency of abortion in the U.S. since it became legally accessible in 1973 would explain why the U.S. pre-term birth rate is 12.5%, but in Ireland where abortion is illegal, the incidence was 5.4% in 2003.

An abortion clinic based in Chicago lists "prematurity and spontaneous miscarriage" as possible complications of a dilation and extraction abortion procedure which is done between 13.5 and 22 weeks gestation.  It also lists laceration of the cervix and infection as further complications. 

A San Antonio abortion clinic lists "infection of female organs: uterus, tube, ovaries", "incompetent cervix" and "possible increased lifetime risk of breast cancer" among eleven "risks and hazards" that "may occur in connection with this particular procedure."

The Institute's report listed "cervical and uterine anomalies" and "urogenital infections" as risk factors for premature birth.  A cervical laceration is a cervical anomaly.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reports that African Americans have the highest rate for premature birth. [See:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/factsheets/ceh/disparity.htm]

The Centers for Disease Control reported in 2004 that "The abortion rate for black women (29 per 1,000 women) was 3.0 times the rate for white women (10 per 1,000)...." [See:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5309a1.htm]

Premature birth is associated with cerebral palsy for children, neonatal deaths, and breast cancer for mothers.  The resulting emotional toll for families and the economic costs for taxpayers and our burdened healthcare system are incalculably high.

Sincerely,
Karen Malec
Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer
www.AbortionBreastCancer.com
P.O. Box 957133, Hoffman Estates, IL 60195
847-421-4000 (office)

#####   

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 http://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:

Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer
http://www.AbortionBreastCancer.com

Breast Cancer Prevention Institute
http://www.BCPInstitute.org

Polycarp Research Institute
http://www.polycarp.org

This newsletter can be viewed online at:
http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/news/060901/index.htm