Abortion and Cancer

[arcticpenguin]

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2003/304/3
(Science Now - subscription only)

Politics in the U.S. National Cancer Institute. They used to state on their web site that there is no link between abortion and cancer.

Then one researcher with an anti-abortion agenda, Joel Brind, did one study finding a very very weak link. Soon he was lobbying congressmen, and the NCI withdrew its web page for review.

Subsequent studies failed to support the link, and even showed up the flaw in Brind's study. (Get this; in the current political climate, some women who had abortions will actually deny it!)

Now even more studies are in, and none of them, excepting Brind's, show a link. NCI's board of scientific advisors met yesterday and accepted a report with that result. Now the NCI director, Andrew von Eschenbach, must decide what to do with that report. Does he go with the clear scientific finding, or does he cave in to his political bosses?

[subgenius]

I'm not clear on whether the USNCI is an actual government agency.
Not clear what you mean by "that result."
Don't know what von Eschenbach's background is.
Would certainly like to know these things and who Brind is connected to politically.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by subgenius
I'm not clear on whether the USNCI is an actual government agency.
Not clear what you mean by "that result."
Don't know what von Eschenbach's background is.
Would certainly like to know these things and who Brind is connected to politically.
The National Cancer Institute is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), so yes, it is part of the gov't. http://www.nci.nih.gov/

The committee accepted the new report which goes along with the "no link" conclusion found by the vast majority of studies.

[kedo1981]

I’ve heard this on a silly right wing talk show one night “Savage Nation”.
The first ? I had was, does a miscarried pregnancy also led to higher rates of C ?

[neutrino_cannon]

Religion, politics, unjustifable bias, silly social constructs.

If there were things I would rid humanity of...

How long did it take to have abortion developed into the fine science it is now? And to have it wrecked by someone with cash in their pockets and uselessness in their craniums.

I say (here, as in other places) that if you want to get rid of abortion for all but medical emergencies or other neccesities, promote contraceptives. They are so much cheaper and easier, I wonder why abortions are as widespread as they are.

[Andonyx]

Originally posted by neutrino_cannon
They are so much cheaper and easier, I wonder why abortions are as widespread as they are.

Because many people would rather our schools preached to students instead of educating them.

[neutrino_cannon]

Originally posted by Andonyx


Because many people would rather our schools preached to students instead of educating them.

There's religion, politics and unjustifyable bias.

Sheesh, in America they're all practically the same species.

[BillyJoe]

Originally posted by neutrino_cannon
.....I wonder why abortions are as widespread as they are. The REAL reason? Simple - human nature! Live with it.

regards,
BillyJoe

[GreyWanderer]

Abortion leading to cancer? How is that supposed to happen? Stupidest thing I've heard all day.