Join a
dynamic presentation and discussion about the science linking environmental pollutants and breast cancer. The event will be led by Dr. Julia Brody, executive director of Silent Spring Institute and a leader in research on breast cancer and the environment and public engagement in science. All are welcome.
As part of the monthly Science Cafe series, the event is sponsored by the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island, the Brown University Superfund Research Program, and the Brown University Children’s Environmental Health Center. Contact David Ciplet with questions.
Wednesday, March 30, 6 pm to 7 pm, Friendship Cafe, 500 Broad St, free
Thanks Wess, you certainly did your homework here. My main point was that a link between pollution and breast cancer seems just as far-fetched as the other links I mentioned. I guess we’ll just have to stick to the fact that abortion kills an unborn child to discourage people from having abortions.
The facts on contraceptives and cancer provided at the same source as above are more complex, and you’ve got a little purchase there, though not a whole lot. Reading the abstract, oral contraceptives are implicated in some cancers, but not in some others, and may even inhibit some others. So it’s not possible to say anything as simple (and simplistic) as that they cause cancer, or don’t.
According to Cancer.gov:
“In February 2003, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) convened a workshop of over 100 of the world’s leading experts who study pregnancy and breast cancer risk. Workshop participants reviewed existing population-based, clinical, and animal studies on the relationship between pregnancy and breast cancer risk, including studies of induced and spontaneous abortions. They concluded that having an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman’s subsequent risk of developing breast cancer. A summary of their findings, titled Summary Report: Early Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer Workshop, can be found at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/ere-workshop-report.
NCI regularly reviews and analyzes the scientific literature on many topics, including various risk factors for breast cancer. Considering the body of literature that has been published since 2003, when NCI held this extensive workshop on early reproductive events and cancer, the evidence overall still does not support early termination of pregnancy as a cause of breast cancer. To view regular updates on this topic, please go to http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/breast/HealthProfessional/page2#Section_280.”
The fact that you may believe something, or wish it to be true, does not make it so.
I wonder if these same researchers will now acknowledge the links between abortion and breast cancer. Ditto for birth control pills.