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| | [[Image:Baby.jpg|right|thumb|A human being before birth.]] | | [[Image:Baby.jpg|right|thumb|A human being before birth.]] |
| − | The word '''abortion,''' in connection with pregnancy, can be defined as "Termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a fetus that is incapable of survival."<ref>American Heritage Dictionary definition, [http://www.bartleby.com/61/7/A0020700.html abortion]</ref> The word commonly refers to ''induced'' abortion; that is, the intentional performance of a procedure which causes the death of a living organism. Most Christian conservatives regard human life as beginning at conception and consider abortion to be the killing of innocent babies while in the womb of their mother. | + | The word '''abortion,''' in connection with pregnancy, can be defined as "Termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a fetus that is incapable of survival."<ref>American Heritage Dictionary definition, [http://www.bartleby.com/61/7/A0020700.html abortion]</ref> The word commonly refers to ''induced'' abortion; that is, the intentional performance of a procedure which causes the death of a living organism. The father of medicine, [[Hippocrates]], expressly prohibited abortion in his Oath based on ethics long before Christianity. Today abortion is a billion-dollar industry<ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/03/09/fetal.tissue/index.html</ref><ref>http://www.healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=8247</ref> in the United States and Western Europe except for Ireland, Malta, Poland and Portugal, where it is generally illegal. |
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| − | Abortion is a profitable industry<ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/03/09/fetal.tissue/index.html</ref><ref>http://www.healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=8247</ref> in the United States and Western Europe except for Ireland, Malta, Poland and Portugal, where it is generally illegal. Prior to 1973 abortion was illegal in most of the United States, though a few states (such as Hawaii and New York) allowed it with restrictions[http://ecampus.bentley.edu/org/wc/reproductiverights.html]. The [[The United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]]'s 1973 [[Roe v. Wade]]<ref>Online text of [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=410&page=113 Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)]</ref> decision ruled that abortions are lawful under the [[U.S. Constitution]] up to the point at which the fetus becomes able to survive outside the womb, and an accompanying decision issued the same day captioned [[Doe v. Bolton]] essentially legalized abortion in the unlimited discretion of the abortionist at any time during pregnancy, up to and including birth. Conservatives immediately criticized these decisions as examples of [[Judicial Activism]].
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| | == Abortion and Breast Cancer == | | == Abortion and Breast Cancer == |
| − | The majority of scientific studies have shown that abortion causes an increase in breast cancer, including 16 out of 17 statistically significant studies.<ref>http://www.jpands.org/vol8no2/malec.pdf</ref> | + | The majority of scientific studies have shown that abortion causes an increase in breast cancer, including 16 out of 17 statistically significant studies.<ref>http://www.jpands.org/vol8no2/malec.pdf</ref> |
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| | In a peer-reviewed medical journal, Karen Malec observed that:<ref>''Id.''</ref> | | In a peer-reviewed medical journal, Karen Malec observed that:<ref>''Id.''</ref> |
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| | In Romania, abortion was illegal under two decades of rule by the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and the country enjoyed one of the lowest breast cancer rates in the entire world during that time, far lower than comparable Western countries. Romania's breast cancer rate was an astounding one-sixth the rate of the United States.<ref>A. Khan, "The role of fat in breast cancer," The Independent (May 18, 1998).</ref> But after the execution of Ceausescu on Christmas Day, 1989, Romania has taken the opposite approach, embracing abortion to the point that Romania now has one of the highest abortion rates in the world.<ref>N. Abdullaev, "Russians are quickest to marry and divorce," Moscow Times (Dec 8, 2004).</ref> One Romanian observer decried, "The liberalization of abortions in Romania in 1990, the significant increase of the number of abortions at relatively short intervals, determined a rise in the incidence of breast and uterine cervix cancer in my country."<ref>Information packet, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) World Conference on Breast Cancer (July 1997).</ref> | | In Romania, abortion was illegal under two decades of rule by the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and the country enjoyed one of the lowest breast cancer rates in the entire world during that time, far lower than comparable Western countries. Romania's breast cancer rate was an astounding one-sixth the rate of the United States.<ref>A. Khan, "The role of fat in breast cancer," The Independent (May 18, 1998).</ref> But after the execution of Ceausescu on Christmas Day, 1989, Romania has taken the opposite approach, embracing abortion to the point that Romania now has one of the highest abortion rates in the world.<ref>N. Abdullaev, "Russians are quickest to marry and divorce," Moscow Times (Dec 8, 2004).</ref> One Romanian observer decried, "The liberalization of abortions in Romania in 1990, the significant increase of the number of abortions at relatively short intervals, determined a rise in the incidence of breast and uterine cervix cancer in my country."<ref>Information packet, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) World Conference on Breast Cancer (July 1997).</ref> |
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| | + | Studies on rats, which is accepted method for identifying what causes cancer in humans, confirm that abortion does indeed cause cancer. "Researchers also widely admit to the biological plausibility of abortion as an independent cause of breast cancer, through the estrogen-mediated stimulation of breast growth in the absence of differentiation. This was demonstrated experimentally in rats in the landmark experiments of Russo and Russo."<ref>Joel Brind, "Induced Abortion as an Independent Risk Factor for Breast Cancer: A Critical Review of Recent Studies Based on Prospective Data," J. of Am. Physicians & Surgeons 105 (Winter 2005) [http://www.jpands.org/vol10no4/brind.pdf] (citing Russo J, Russo IH. Susceptibility of the mammary gland to |
| | + | carcinogenesis. 1980;100:497-512).</ref> Additional scientific information on the abortion-breast cancer link is available [http://www.bcpinstitute.org here]. |
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| | == Premature Birth and Abortion == | | == Premature Birth and Abortion == |
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| | There is no comparable organization supporting pro-life candidates, because there are no monetary rewards to defending human life. Instead, pro-life candidates and supporters are motivated by religious and ethical principles. | | There is no comparable organization supporting pro-life candidates, because there are no monetary rewards to defending human life. Instead, pro-life candidates and supporters are motivated by religious and ethical principles. |
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| | + | == Legal History of Abortion in the United States == |
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| | + | Prior to 1973 abortion was illegal in most of the United States, though a few states (such as Hawaii and New York) allowed it with restrictions[http://ecampus.bentley.edu/org/wc/reproductiverights.html]. The U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 [[Roe v. Wade]]<ref>Online text of [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=410&page=113 Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)]</ref> decision ruled that abortions are lawful under the [[U.S. Constitution]] up to the point at which the fetus becomes able to survive outside the womb, and an accompanying decision issued the same day captioned [[Doe v. Bolton]] essentially legalized abortion in the unlimited discretion of the abortionist at any time during pregnancy, up to and including birth. Conservatives immediately criticized these decisions as examples of [[Judicial Activism]]. |
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |
| | <references/> | | <references/> |