Abortion and Breast Cancer

The Link that Won't Go Away

There are many well established and well-known causes of breast cancer, such as inheriting a BRCA gene (a defective gene associated with increased breast cancer risk) and being exposed to oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy. There are lesser known risks of breast cancer such as cigarette smoking before a full term pregnancy and induced abortion. But just as only 15% of people who smoke will get lung cancer and only about 5 – 10% of women with breast cancer develop this cancer because they had an abortion, we should still advise the public of these avoidable risks, however small. The vast majority of women with breast cancer have not had an abortion, but there are some women with breast cancer that have abortion as an attributable risk. Women need this information to make informed choices and to understand when to get screened for cancer if they are at increased risk, beginning approximately 8 to 10 years after the risk was taken. — Dr. Angela Lanfranci, FACS, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Respect Life Program ©2007  Continue reading

Susan g. komen's moral delimma

National Catholic Register

Pro-life advocates remain troubled by the group’s ties to Planned Parenthood, and its denial of links between breast cancer and abortion and the use of oral contraceptives. 

Additional Resources

The Breast Cancer Epidemic: 10 Facts

Induced Abortion as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer: A Critical Review of Recent Studies Based on Prospective Data

The Corruption of Science by Ideology by Ed Furton, MA, Ph.D., Ethics and Medics

Breast Cancer Prevention Institute Fact Sheet - Epidemiologic Studies: Induced Abortion and Breast Cancer Risk, Updated November 2014

Press Release: Legally Induced Abortion: the best predictor of 3 British breast cancer trends

The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link Revisited by Angela Lanfranchi, M.D., F.A.C.S., Breast Cancer Prevention Institute

The National Cancer Institute on Abortion