Malpractice Newsroom

Medical Journal Abortion Cancer Link Has Malpractice Implications for Doctors

Andrew Schlafly, Esq., general counsel for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, advised doctors that they have a common law duty to disclose the risks of any medical procedure, including abortion. He warned that two malpractice lawsuits have been successfully prosecuted in the U.S. for failing to disclose the link.

The most common type of malpractice case in the U.S. is failure to diagnose breast cancer. The average payout is $200,000, not counting other related costs. Courts may find doctors have a "heightened duty to screen" patients for cancer.

Misinformation about a paper in the medical journal Lancet in 2004 has appeared in news reports. Schlafly said the prevailing medical view is that more abortions in a society will result in higher breast cancer rates. Experts recognize the first of two risks -- the loss of the protective effect of childbearing. The Lancet paper's findings are consistent with this medical view.

Five medical groups and a bioethics journal recognize the second risk -- the "independent link." This means abortion leaves women with more cancer-vulnerable breast lobules.

Schlafly said, "the Lancet article relies entirely on a hypothetical comparison...." The authors compared the effects of having an abortion to not having had that pregnancy. Even the Lancet "tacitly concedes" that abortion increases risk compared to childbearing.

Schlafly joined other experts who've criticized the Lancet paper's many flaws. (2,3) He observed that most large studies found an independent link, beyond the loss of the protective effect of childbearing. The Lancet's data demonstrated "a clear correlation," even after its authors excluded studies showing the highest correlation and added "dubious studies."

Most abortion-positive women haven't reached the age when they're most likely to develop the disease -- 50 years and older. Schlafly estimated an absolute lifetime risk of 1 in 3 and predicted "staggering" costs for society. Noting that the tobacco industry had to pay the costs of lung cancer, he wondered who would pay the costs of breast cancer?

"The cancer fundraising industry is poised to reap a windfall because it failed to warn women about the recognized cancer risk of abortion," asserted Karen Malec, president of the coalition. "It hoodwinked journalists, lawmakers, doctors and the public about both cancer risks. The abortion and the cancer fundraising industries should be made to re-pay the costs of breast cancer incurred by society."

The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer is an international women's organization founded to protect the health and save the lives of women by educating and providing information on abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer