Briefing for Lord Alton of Liverpool’s Unstarred Question on Wednesday 29^th October at 7.30pm (approx.)

The Lord Alton of Liverpool—To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence links breast cancer with abortion; and what measures they are taking to alert women to any risks involved.

28 out of 37 worldwide studies have independently linked induced abortion with breast cancer.  Thirteen out of fifteen studies conducted on American women report increased risk.  Seventeen studies are statistically significant, sixteen of which found increased risk. 

“If you look at the number of studies that show a connection, they vastly outnumber the ones that don’t, and the ones that don’t have been criticized for serious methodological flaws.. ..I think (doctors) should inform patients about this” - Jane Orient, MD, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons:

It is thought that there are two ways in which abortion may cause breast cancer:

1. An induced abortion causes biological changes to occur in a woman's breasts which make her more susceptible to breast cancer. 

 

When a woman becomes pregnant, her breasts enlarge. This occurs because a hormone called estradiol, a type of oestrogen, causes both the normal and pre-cancerous cells in the breast to multiply terrifically. This process is called “proliferation.” By 7 to 8 weeks gestation, the estradiol level has increased by 500% over what it was at the time of conception.

If the pregnancy is carried to term, a second process called “differentiation” takes place. Differentiation is the shaping of cells into milk producing tissue. It shuts off the cell multiplication process. This takes place at approximately 32 weeks gestation.

If the pregnancy is aborted, the woman is left with more undifferentiated -- and therefore cancer-vulnerable cells -- than she had before she was pregnant. On the other hand, a full term pregnancy leaves a woman with more milk producing differentiated cells, which means that she has fewer cancer-vulnerable cells in her breasts than she did before the pregnancy.

N.B. Research has shown that most miscarriages do not raise breast cancer risk. This is due to a lack of oestrogen overexposure. Miscarriages are frequently precipitated by a decline in the production of progesterone which is needed to maintain a pregnancy. Oestrogen is made from progesterone, so the levels of each hormone rise and fall together during pregnancy.

2. Delayed first full term pregnancy is a second way in which induced abortion can cause this disease. 

Medical experts have recognized since 1970 that the earlier a woman has her first full term pregnancy (FFTP), the lower her risk for breast cancer is. A landmark Harvard study reported that for each one year delay of a FFTP, risk is elevated 3.5%.

The Lancet published a large meta-analysis on the benefits of breastfeeding and childbearing in which data were collected from 47 epidemiological studies in 30 countries. It was found that the relative risk of breast cancer declined 4.3% for each 12 months of breastfeeding and 7.0% for every birth. It was concluded that the incidence of breast cancer in developed nations could be reduced by more than half if only women would bear more children and breastfeed for longer periods of time.[(July 20, 2002) The Lancet, 360:187-95] 

High Risk Groups

Dr. Janet Daling and her colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in the United States were commissioned by the US National Cancer Institute to conduct a study to determine if induced abortion raises breast cancer risk. 

Their study found that, "among women who had been pregnant at least once, the risk of breast cancer in those who had experienced an induced abortion was 50% higher than among other women."

Daling identified 3 high risk groups and reported these findings:

·         Women under the age of 18 or over the age of 29 who obtained induced abortions have more than a twofold increase in risk.

·         Women with a family history of breast cancer who procured an abortion were found to have statistically significant risk increases of 80 percent.

·         Teenagers with a family history of the disease who procured abortions before the age of 18 were found to have incalculably high risk.  All 12 women in Daling's study with this background were diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 45.  [Daling et al. (1994) J Natl Cancer Inst 86:505-14.]

The American Cancer Society has stated in its fact sheet that abortion "may be associated with increased breast cancer risk."  [American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures -- 1996, at 12 (1996)] 

World’s First Known Abortion-Breast Cancer Settlement

The world’s first known abortion-breast cancer settlement was reported in Australia in 2001. An Australian woman who had obtained an abortion sued her physician for medical malpractice. She claimed he failed to inform her of the research linking abortion with breast cancer and the possibility of emotional damage which she might suffer as a result of her abortion. Although she had not developed breast cancer she received a significant sum by way of settlement of her claim.

A Woman’s Right To Know

It cannot be said that all women who have breast cancer have had abortions.  Similarly, not all women who have had abortions will get breast cancer.  Nevertheless, abortion is the most preventable risk factor for breast cancer.

The independent evidence linking induced abortion with breast cancer is compelling.  In the UK, the Abortion Act gives women the ‘Right to Choose’. Women also deserve the Right to Know.