35th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ABORTION ACT 1967

Motion Text

That this House notes the 35th anniversary of the passing of the Abortion Act 1967; records that of 37 world-wide studies since 1957, 28 have shown a positive association between abortion and breast cancer; notes that data indicates that girls of under 18 who have abortions double their risk of breast cancer; further notes that of 15 major American projects, funded at least in part by the US National Cancer Institute, 13 showed an increased risk; regrets the tragic dearth of such work in the United Kingdom despite strong statistical evidence indicating the need for research; notes the work of the British actuary Patrick Carroll, suggesting statistical links between abortion and breast cancer and forecasting a rise from 40,000 cases to over 77,000 in 2023 if current fertility and abortion patterns continue; further notes an American study on mental health in the British Medical Journal in January 2002 indicated that women who abort a first pregnancy are at greater risk of subsequent long-term clinical depression compared to women who carry an unintended first pregnancy to term; notes many other world-wide research projects affirming post-abortion syndrome as a clinical condition; regrets the lack of such research in the United Kingdom; recognises that women who have the right to choose also have the right to know what they are choosing; and calls on the Government to further research by circulating hospitals to check on abortion histories of women suffering from breast cancer, clinical depression and other relevant psychiatric illness.