Senate Resolution

Please note that there are three joint sponsors of the resolution: Senators Patrick O'Malley, Doris Karpiel and Chris Lauzen.

On October 28, 1999 the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer sponsored a legislative briefing during which Illinois lawmakers were educated about the abortion-breast cancer link by Dr. Joel Brind, President of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, and about the legal liability of abortion providers by John Kindley, Esq. At the end of the briefing, Illinois Senator Patrick O'Malley announced that he would introduce a resolution in the Illinois Senate calling for hearings on the link between abortion and breast cancer. His resolution calls for a task force to be formed, which is to be made up of five members of the Senate. The task force will study a variety of issues related to the connection between abortion and breast cancer, some of which include whether there is a link between spontaneous abortion and breast cancer and whether there are other variables which place certain women in high risk groups, such as age and family history of breast cancer. The task force will explore various ways to inform women about any health risks which it identifies.

State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

91_SR0214

SRS91SR0031AWch

1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The United States Congress has called breast
3 cancer a "growing epidemic" and breast cancer is the leading
4 form of cancer among American women; and

5 WHEREAS, It is estimated that 182,000 new cases of breast
6 cancer will be diagnosed each year in American women, and
7 breast cancer is a major cause of death among middle-aged
8 women; it is estimated that 46,000 women will die each year
9 from breast cancer; and

10 WHEREAS, American women, in general, have at least a 10%
11 lifetime risk of developing breast cancer; and

12 WHEREAS, It is reported that the risk of breast cancer
13 increases 30% in women who had an abortion; therefore, be it

14 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
15 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that there is created the
16 Abortion-Breast Cancer Task Force consisting of 5 members of
17 the Senate, with 3 members appointed by the President of the
18 Senate (one of whom shall be designated as chairperson) and 2
19 members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; all
20 of whom shall serve without compensation; and be it further

21 RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall study various issues
22 relating to the link between cancer and abortion, and that
23 the Task Force shall examine, among other issues it chooses
24 to investigate, the following:
25 1) Is there a link between induced abortion and
26 breast cancer?
27 2) Is there a link between miscarriage (spontaneous
28 abortion) and breast cancer?
29 3) Is there a plausible biological mechanism that
30 can explain how abortion could increase the risk of
31 breast cancer?

-2- SRS91SR0031AWch

1 4) Is there any experimental evidence in addition to
2 epidemiological evidence of an abortion-breast cancer
3 link?
4 5) Is there evidence that abortion interacts with
5 any other variables known to influence breast cancer
6 risk, such as age, number and timing of children, and
7 family history of breast cancer?
8 6) What action is necessary to ensure that women and
9 their doctors are well informed about health risks
10 identified by the Task Force?

11 RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall meet at the call of
12 the chairperson, shall hold public meetings, shall receive
13 the assistance of legislative staff, and shall report its
14 findings and recommendations concerning various issues
15 relating to the existence of a link between abortion and
16 breast cancer to the Senate by filing a copy of its report
17 with the Secretary of the Senate on or before February 28,
18 2000; and that upon filing its report the Task Force is
19 dissolved.