Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer
Press Release
Contact: Karen Malec, 847-421-4000
Date: February 27, 2009
OBAMA'S SUPPRESSION OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS' CONSCIENCE RIGHTS WILL WORSEN BREAST CANCER, PREMATURE BIRTH EPIDEMICS
A Los Angeles Times story today reveals that President Obama plans to rescind a regulation put in place last year by the Bush Administration that protects health care workers' rights to follow their consciences by refusing to participate in abortion and the distribution of cancer-causing hormonal steroids (i.e. hormonal contraceptives/abortifacients). [1]
"Obama's decision hurts women's health," declared Karen Malec, president of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer. "Basic medical texts acknowledge that women can help prevent breast cancer by having more children, starting at a younger age, and breastfeeding them longer. The woman who chooses not to have a baby (i.e. abortion), therefore, has a higher breast cancer risk than the one who has a baby. Additionally, the World Health Organization classified combined (estrogen + progestin) hormonal contraceptives as Group 1 carcinogens in 2006. [2] Why aren't women being told?
"Instead, the government is physically abusing women through its determined pursuit of an antiquated population control policy. The Obama Administration is sacrificing scientific integrity and women's health in order to pursue an ideological agenda.
"A half-century of research shows that abortion further increases risk by leaving the mother's breasts with more places for cancers to start. [3,4] This phenomenon finds additional biological support in epidemiological studies reporting that premature birth before 32 weeks gestation increases breast cancer risk. [5,6,7,8] The Institute of Medicine acknowledges that abortion puts mothers at risk for premature birth. [9]
"The Obama Administration should not mandate abortion as the standard of care because abortion is bad medicine. Two hundred years ago, bloodletting was the standard of care, and some patients died. Also, doctors did not wash their hands before delivering babies, so women died of childbed fever. Medicine has only progressed since that time because there were courageous doctors and scientists willing to challenge their peers to bring their practices up-to-date as new scientific evidence became available.
"If Obama rescinds the conscience-protecting regulation, women will not be given their rights to know about a large body of scientific evidence implicating abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer, premature birth, placenta previa, suicide and other forms of emotional harm." [10]
"The Mexico City Policy was rescinded late on a Friday afternoon last month. When there is a cowardly decision to be made on abortion in a low profile way, Obama does it on Fridays when journalists are less likely to pay attention."
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. "Conscience rule on abortions may be overturned," by Noam Levy, Los Angeles Times, February 27, 2009. Available at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-conscience27-2009feb27,0,7220543.story
2. Press Release No. 167, "IARC Monographs Programme Finds Combined Estrogen-Progestogen Contraceptives (the "pill") and Menopausal Therapy Are Carcinogenic to Humans," World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer, July 29, 2005. See <http://www.iarc.fr/ENG/Press_Releases/pr167a.html>.
3. Brind J, Chinchilli V, Severs W, Summy-Long J. Induced abortion as an independent risk factor for breast cancer: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis. J Epidemiol Community Health 1996;50:481-496.
4. Brind J. Induced abortion as an independent risk factor for breast cancer: A critical review of recent studies based on prospective data. J Am Phys Surg Vol. 10, No. 4 (Winter 2005) 105-110. Available at: < http://www.jpands.org/vol10no4/brind.pdf>.
5. Melbye M, Wohlfahrt J, Andersen A-M N, Westergaard T, Andersen PK. Preterm delivery and risk of breast cancer. Bri J Cancer 1999;80:609-13.
6. Hsieh C-c, Wuu J, Lambe M, Trichopoulos D, et al Delivery of premature newborns and maternal breast-cancer risk. Lancet 1999;353-1239.
7. Vatten LJ, et al. Pregnancy related protection against breast cancer depends on length of gestation. Br J Cancer 2002;87:289-90.
8. Innes K and Byers T. First pregnancy characteristics and subsequent breast cancer risk among young women. Int J Cancer 2004; 112:306-311.
9. Richard E. Behrman, Adrienne Stith Butler, Editors. Preterm birth: Causes, Consequences and Prevention. Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes. Institute of Medicine. Appendix B, Table 5, p. 519. Available at: <http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11622&page=625>.
10. Thorp JM, Hartmann KE, Shadigian EM. Long-term physical and psychological health consequences of induced abortion: A review of the evidence. Obstet & Gynecol Survey 2003;58:1. Available at: http://www.ncrtl.org/images/concept/evidencereview.pdf.
