ABORTION-BREAST CANCER CONNECTION BEGINNING TO HAVE ITS DAY IN COURT.(Brief Article)

A North Dakota judge has ruled that a local abortion clinic did not mislead women when it gave prospective clients brochures which said there is no evidence of a relationship between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer.

Judge Michael McGuire's March 28 decision in the four-day-long trial was in response to a lawsuit filed by Amy Jo Kjolsrud, who argued the brochures amounted to false advertising. Originally, the Red River Women's Clinic handed out brochures to prospective clients which read, "Anti-abortion activists claim that having an abortion increases the risk of developing breast cancer and endangers future childbearing. None of these claims are supported by medical research or established medical organizations."

The clinic quickly reversed itself, removing the brochure only to circulate a replacement brochure that quoted a National Cancer Institute (NCI) "fact sheet."

The NCI fact sheet stated, "There is no evidence of a direct relationship between breast cancer and either induced or spontaneous abortion." However, this claim had been retracted by the NCI.

In ruling that the Red River Women's Clinic exercised "reasonable care," McGuire said, "It does appear that the clinic had the intent to put out correct information and that their information is not untrue or misleading in any way." A somewhat similar case was dismissed earlier in March by a California judge.

Testifying for Kjolsrud, Joel Brind, Ph.D., laid out the many studies that substantiate the connection between a woman's decision to have an induced abortion and a subsequent greater risk of breast cancer. Brind told the court that 28 of 37 studies conducted worldwide show a connection, raising a woman's breast cancer risk at least 30%. Julie Palmer, like Brind an epidemiologist, testified that she did not believe there is a direct link, although, she said, there are studies that support the idea there is a relationship between abortion and breast cancer.

Judge McGuire concluded from this, "One thing is clear from the experts, and that is that there are inconsistencies," the Forum newspaper reported. "The issue seems to be in a state of flux."