Women who have had an abortion are up to twice as likely to suffer from breast cancer.
In the first study of its kind in Britain researchers said the risk of breast cancer is significantly increased if a woman has undergone a termination of pregnancy.
The study, which looked at breast cancer and abortion rates in Britain, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, draws a direct link between rising cases of breast cancer and an increase in abortion since it was legalized.
The research, by the Populations and Pensions Research Institution, an independent group of statisticians, suggests that up to 50 per cent of breast cancer cases in England and Wales over the next 26 years will be "attributable to abortion".
Launching the study, which was funded by the anti-abortion charity Life, Professor Joel Brind of New York's City University and director of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute in New York, insisted it was intellectually watertight.
He said: "Women are at risk and they do not really know about it. They certainly don't seem to be finding out about it from the NHS.
"This implicates a risk factor that is a matter of choice. Simply undergoing the procedure once measurably increases the risk of breast cancer.
"We are talking about thousands of cases of breast cancer over the next twenty years. This is a very sobering statistic."
Researcher and author Patrick Carroll said the total number of breast cancer cases is expected to more than double from 35,110 in 1997 to 77,000 in 2023.
The rise was largely because of abortions carried out on women who have not yet had a baby, Carroll said.
"Breast cancer incidence has risen ... in parallel with rising abortion rates. There is no doubt there is a causal relationship," he said.
"Perhaps as many as 50 per cent of these cases will be attributable to abortion and unless there is a major improvement in treatment, the number of women who die from the disease will rise alarmingly."
Prof Brind said a surge in levels of the hormone oestrogen in the first three months of pregnancy by around 2000 per cent is the most likely mechanism for increasing risk in women who subsequently undergo a termination.
Life seized on the research findings to assert that abortion is psychologically and physically dangerous.
Professor Jack Scarisbrick, chairman of Life, said: "We accuse the government and the medical establishment of persistent refusal to take seriously the mounting evidence that abortion is a significantly independent risk factor for breast cancer."
NineMSN December 6, 2001
Comment from Gene Rudd, MD, Christian Medical Association Associate Director
While not all studies confirm a causal link, there is growing and alarming data to suggest that elective abortion increases a woman's chance for breast cancer. Sadly, personal bias and political agendas too often overshadow a critical review. For now, I believe there is sufficient data to make this an issue of informed consent, public awareness and research priority.
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