Justices refuse appeal on abortion-breast cancer link
- Nov 15, 2004
The Supreme Court announced Oct. 18 it would not consider a suit involving Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s refusal to provide information on a link between abortion and breast cancer.
The justices will not review a California Supreme Court opinion dismissing a lawsuit by three women against PPFA and two of its Southern California affiliates. Agnes Bernardo and two other Californians had asked a court to require Planned Parenthood to inform its abortion clients there is medical evidence of a link between abortion and breast cancer. The court dismissed the suit and ordered the women to pay more than $77,000 in fees for Planned Parenthood’s attorneys. A California appeals court and the state’s high court upheld the decision.
The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer and other organizations contend women who have had abortions are at risk for breast cancer, but abortion advocates and others argue there is no such evidence. Of 41 published studies, 29 have indicated an increased risk of breast cancer for women who have had abortions, LifeNews.com reported.
The head of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer called the Supreme Court’s order a “miscarriage of justice.”
“Women have the right to know the truth,” Karen Malec said. “The abortion and the cancer fund-raising industries value abortion and making money more than our lives.”
The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer contends abortion not only can place a woman at risk for breast cancer by delaying child bearing but by the changes it produces in her breast cells.