The Abortion Breast Cancer Risk

Then it was:  Smoking doesn't cause cancer.
Now it is:  Abortion doesn't cause cancer.

Get the Facts:

How Does an Abortion Increase My Risk of Getting Breast Cancer?
When you become pregnant your body produces a surge of the hormone estrogen. This causes the cells in the breast to multiply rapidly in the first half of the pregnancy. In the second half, other hormones are produced to stop this rapid growth and to direct these cells to perform new functions such as producing milk. These last changes protect the cells against cancer-causing substances. When you have an abortion, all of those millions of cells are left immature and growing too fast. Without the second surge of hormones to turn off the growth and direct the cell, they are left open and vulnerable to cancer.

Is the risk higher for some women than for others?
Yes.  The risk of breast cancer among the general population of women is now close to 12%.  That means that 12 out of every 100 women in this country will get breast cancer.  For women who have never had children it is closer to 20%. And for those who have had no children and also have one or more abortions it is closer to 50%. If you have a family history of breast cancer (mother, aunt, grandmother or sister) and have an early abortion at a young age, your chances of getting breast cancer before age 45 are increased 800%! This means that you are eight times more likely to get breast cancer than if you didn’t have any of these factors. This was the result of research funded by the American Cancer Institute in 1994. (1)

Have there been other studies that have the same results?
There have been numerous studies that indicate having an abortion increases your risk of breast cancer. Here are just a few:

1981 - A Los Angeles study found a significant 2-4 times higher incidence of breast cancer among women under 33 years of age who aborted their first baby. (2)
1993 - A Howard University study showed that African American women over age 50 were 4.7 times more likely to get breast cancer if they had an abortion compared to women who had not had abortions. (3)
1994 - A National Cancer Institute study of over 1,800 women in Washington State found a 50 percent increased risk among women who had abortions. The risk was more than double for women whose first abortion took place before age 18 or over age 30. (1)