Legislative Measures Will Worsen Epidemics

LEGISLATIVE MEASURES AT FEDERAL, STATE LEVELS WILL WORSEN BREAST CANCER, PREMATURE BIRTH EPIDEMICS

President Obama, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and legislators in Texas, Illinois and New York support legislation that will have the unintentional effect of deepening the breast cancer and premature birth epidemics. To educate policy makers, the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer is publishing the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute's document summarizing the state of the research on the abortion-breast cancer link and discussing the risk of premature birth.  It is available at:    

President Obama and Rep. Nadler (NY) have indicated their support for the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). FOCA legislation is pending in the Illinois House (HB2354).  New York's version is the misnamed Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act.  FOCA laws will deprive women of their rights to be informed about the risks of abortion.

Texas Reps. Ellen Cohen and Garnet Coleman support a measure (HB 2968) removing information from the state health department's booklet, "A Woman's Right to Know," about the breast cancer risk of abortion.

"If these policy makers ever decide to educate themselves," commented Karen Malec, president of the Coalition, "they will learn that medical texts say having more babies, starting at a younger age, and breastfeeding them longer reduces breast cancer risk considerably.  Texas accurately informs the pregnant woman about the protective effect of childbearing by saying, 'If you have carried a pregnancy to term as a young woman, you may be less likely to get breast cancer in the future. However, you do not get the same protective effect if your pregnancy is ended by an abortion.'

"Only a first full term pregnancy matures 85% of the mother's cancer-susceptible breast lobules into permanently cancer-resistant lobules.

"The Texas booklet accurately reports that researchers continue to debate a second risk - whether abortion leaves the breasts with more places for cancers to start.  It says some studies support this effect, while some do not." Eight medical groups acknowledge this risk.

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.