Abortion & the Link to Breast Cancer: The Continued Debate

As breast cancer continues to be a leading cause of health concern for many women, there is a growing concern over the indirect lifestyle choices that may place women at greater risk. While we understand the direct causes of breast cancer, including smoking and genetic disposition, some women are now looking at indirect health issues that pose a greater risk.

While not commonly viewed as a risk for breast cancer, there are some pro-life advocates that claim women who undergo abortion may be placing their health at risk. While abortion procedures are considered safe for women, the risk for breast cancer is being addressed as an indirect lifestyle impact.

How is the link between breast cancer and abortion made? In the opinion of some health care professionals, the risk for breast cancer is believed to be increased in women who have a history of giving birth to premature infants. With some healthcare professionals believing the risk of premature birth, in turn, is attributed to a woman's history of prior abortion.

While the National Cancer Institute does not support this finding, even going so far as to stipulate that neither abortion nor miscarriage increases a woman's risk for breast cancer, man pro-life organizations continue to promote this indirect connection as part of the platform to ban abortion across the country.

The common term used to describe this link is the known as the 'ABC Link', or abortion-breast cancer link. While this debate is not new to the medical community, there continues to be theories as to why the abortion and breast cancer link seem to come together; one that involves estrogen levels, progesterone levels and abnormally developed breast tissue during early stages of pregnancy. In theory, when pregnancy is terminated early, breast tissue develops abnormally, leading to breast cancer.