Study: No Abortion-Cancer Link

A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine states that there is no link between abortion and breast cancer—a connection that previous studies have said exists. Karin B. Michels, an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, was the lead author of the study, which marks the latest word in an ongoing debate.

Although the connection between abortion and breast cancer is a politically charged issue, Michels is confident in the results of her latest research.

“There have been a number of studies previously conducted that did suggest there is a link between induced abortion and breast cancer, but they were conducted very differently, in a way that may have induced bias,” Michels said.

Michels, unlike other researchers, chose to conduct her study on 105,000 women in perfect health instead of on women already diagnosed with breast cancer.

This is thought to be a better approach because women who are diagnosed with cancer might be more likely to report that they have had an abortion than healthy women, in an attempt to find a source for their illness.

The women, between ages 29 and 46, were tracked for a total of 10 years. About 15 percent of them had previously had an induced abortion.

Every two years, the women were asked two questions: if they had an induced abortion and if they had developed breast cancer. The 10 years’ worth of data showed no connection between the two.

Leslie Bernstein, a professor at the University of Southern California, has produced nearly identical results with three studies of her own. She said that Michels’ findings are critically important, regardless of one’s personal views of abortion.

“The issue is, do you promulgate bad interpretations of science and let women who have an abortion think that this caused their breast cancer when there is absolutely no evidence that it does,” Bernstein said.

Jeffrey Kwong ‘09, vice president of Harvard Right to Life (HRL), said that while the HRL supports scientific research to better understand the effects of abortion, he finds a flaw in Michels’ study: that 93 percent of the women were premenopausal.

“This means the period of study is too short to determine a link between abortion and breast cancer,” Kwong said. “I think this is a common complaint with these studies.”

Joel Brind, a professor at Baruch College, has published studies that do report a link between breast cancer and abortion.

“I see no reason why [Michels’] study would change my opinion that having an abortion increases the risk about 30 percent over not having gotten pregnant in the first place,” Brind told The New York Times.

Michels is currently working on another study focusing on women in the Canadian province of Manitoba. She said she chose Manitoba because all induced abortions are included in patients’ medical records, meaning she does not have to rely on individual interviews. Michels also has access to a complete cancer registry in the area.