Abortion link to breast cancer
August 14, 2000 Daily Express
BY DENNIS RICE

WOMEN who have an abortion are more at risk of getting breast cancer, research has claimed.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said that the American study's findings "could not be disregarded".

The admission, at the end of a two-year review by the RCOG into all the available research on behalf of the NHS, will send shockwaves through the medical profession.

But the Department of Health said the report had not been fully assessed and that it merely warranted further investigation.

The RCOG's warning is in a guideline document in which it examined the work of New York professor Dr Joel Brind.

Dr Brind, a well-known anti-abortionist, said yesterday: "I welcome the RCOG's comments. The fact is that 27 out of 34 studies show there is an increased risk. In the case of women of any age having abortions, we are talking about a 30 per cent greater risk of contracting breast cancer.

"In the case of girls aged under 18 having abortions, the risk of getting breast cancer later on increases by 100 per cent."

Although America as a whole has not recognised the suspected link between abortion and breast cancer, five American states do tell women about the risks.

Now Britain will have to consider whether GPs should pass on the same warning to the 50,000 women who visit their doctors for pregnancy advice each year. Professor Jack Scarisbrick, chairman of the anti-abortion Charity Life, said it would be looking into taking legal steps to ensure that doctors do.

"What this amounts to is hundreds of women are dying every year because of abortions," he said. "This is an avoidable operation. It is an elective one. Doctors are inflicting this on women.

"This could open the floodgates for billions of pounds in damages to be paid out by the NHS because women are not being told about this link when most of the scientific world agrees that it is there." The RCOG also examined two other studies. One concluded that there was no link and the other that "maybe" there was one and that overall "the evidence on this question to date is inconclusive".

The National Abortion Campaign's Janet Mearns said: "Some people stop at nothing to frighten women from having an abortion. Statistics show one in four women have an abortion at some point. We'd have heard a lot earlier if they all got breast cancer."

dennis.rice@express.co.uk C Express Newspapers, 2000