TUSCON, November 3, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has come out in favour of disclosing to patients a “highly plausible” relationship between abortion and increased risk of breast cancer.
AAPS executive director Jane Orient, MD said: “The AAPS believes that patients have the right to give or withhold fully informed consent before undergoing medical treatment. This includes notification of potential adverse effects. While there is a difference of medical opinion concerning the abortion-breast cancer link, there is a considerable volume of evidence supporting this link, which is, moreover, highly plausible. We believe that a reasonable person would want to be informed of the existence of this evidence before making her decision.” Karen Malec, president of the abortion-breast cancer coalition, remarked that “The coalition is grateful to the AAPS for taking a pro-information position on the ABC research. Women have a right to be autonomous, especially when it comes to life or death choices. Mrs. Malec continued, “We encourage all medical groups and the cancer establishment to take a pro-information stand. In particular, we challenge the National Cancer Institute, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to discontinue their pro-censorship practices by offering women an honest evaluation of the research. Censorship has contributed to a public health catastrophe in the U.S.” Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1996 reported a 23% risk elevation among American women procuring abortions. Significantly, Newcomb et al. found that relative risk increased with age at diagnosis. Mrs. Malec published an article in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons during the summer, “The Abortion-Breast Cancer Link: How Politics Trumped Science and Informed Consent.” She discussed widespread scientific misconduct and efforts to conceal the research during the last half century. Five medical groups say that abortion is one of the causes of breast cancer.