WILLIAM T. SALI

This quotation illustrates what often happens with very controversial issues in politics. The Congressman was concerned that a woman should not choose to have an abortion without knowing of the facts about the risks to her health or life. And it is very difficult to argue with his view under normal circumstances. However, in this particular case, the fact is not a fact at all. There is no relationship between breast cancer and abortions. There are many people who do not view abortion as a health issue but as a religious/moral issue. As such, they start with a position that everything should be done to minimize abortion. When someone speculates that there is a link between abortion and breast cancer, they are all too willing to accept the relationship. The Congressman admitted that he did not personally know about any research proving the link, but he argued that he had been told this, believed it in good faith, and therefore wanted to legislate a requirement to so inform women contemplating abortion. However, his opponents on this issue pointed out that a two minute search of the Internet would have easily found that both the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reviewed the possible relationship in 2003 and published their conclusions that there's no link between abortion and breast cancer. Also that The International Journal of Cancer published similar findings based on a study of women in nine countries. The idea of warning women about the risks of abortion as a legal requirement is all the more problematical in that the risk of an abortion in the United States today is LESS than the risk of giving birth to a child. The risk is very low, but in America about 10 women out of every 100,000 who give birth will die of complications of one kind or another. Fewer die for every 100,000 abortions. Both numbers used to be much higher but medical improvements and the legalization of abortion has made both procedures safer.

This quotation illustrates what often happens with very controversial issues in politics. The Congressman was concerned that a woman should not choose to have an abortion without knowing of the facts about the risks to her health or life. And it is very difficult to argue with his view under normal circumstances. However, in this particular case, the fact is not a fact at all. There is no relationship between breast cancer and abortions. There are many people who do not view abortion as a health issue but as a religious/moral issue. As such, they start with a position that everything should be done to minimize abortion. When someone speculates that there is a link between abortion and breast cancer, they are all too willing to accept the relationship. The Congressman admitted that he did not personally know about any research proving the link, but he argued that he had been told this, believed it in good faith, and therefore wanted to legislate a requirement to so inform women contemplating abortion. However, his opponents on this issue pointed out that a two minute search of the Internet would have easily found that both the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reviewed the possible relationship in 2003 and published their conclusions that there's no link between abortion and breast cancer. Also that The International Journal of Cancer published similar findings based on a study of women in nine countries. The idea of warning women about the risks of abortion as a legal requirement is all the more problematical in that the risk of an abortion in the United States today is LESS than the risk of giving birth to a child. The risk is very low, but in America about 10 women out of every 100,000 who give birth will die of complications of one kind or another. Fewer die for every 100,000 abortions. Both numbers used to be much higher but medical improvements and the legalization of abortion has made both procedures safer.