For Immediate Release

National Cancer Institute Admits Abortion
Raises Breast Cancer Risk,
But Why Aren't Women Being Told?

Springfield, IL (Jan. 22, 2010) -- A paper on the link between contraception and breast cancer published this past April also included an admission from National Cancer Institute researchers that abortion raises women's breast cancer risk by 40 percent. Yet advocates for women are wondering why major research groups and breast cancer advocacy groups still aren't telling women about the risk.

The paper, headed by Jessica Dolle at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, not only found that oral contraceptives are a probable cause of breast cancer in women under age 45, but also contained findings from NCI researchers that abortion raised the risk of breast cancer by 40 percent.

The paper included abortion on a list of "known and suspected risk factors" for breast cancer. The study cited was headed by Louise Brinton of NCI, who, critics say, was the chief organizer of the 2003 NCI workshop on the abortion-breast cancer link which falsely assured women that the non-existence of the link was 'well-established.'"

Brinton had also previously worked on a 1996 study study of women that found reported increased risk of breast cancer after abortion of 20-25 percent, according to the Coalition on Abortion Breast Cancer.

Coalition president Karen Malec stated that "[a]lthough the study was published nine months ago, the NCI, American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and other cancer fundraising businesses have made no efforts to reduce breast caner rates by issuing nationwide warnings to women."

"Obviously, more women will die of breast cancer if the NCI fails in its duty warn about the risk of [oral contraceptives] and abortion and if government funds are used to pay for both as part of any healthcare bill," Malec added.