Okay. One. More. Time.
Once again, fetus fetishists are flogging the nonexistent "abortion-breast cancer link". Lifeshite's got its knickers in a knot today because the media didn't cover the latest absurd little, um, "study", that came out last month, the PAPRI Study. No, Big Corporate Media didn't cover it, but Unrepentant Old Media did. The big media didn't cover it because the phony "ABC link" has been debunked so many times by so many reputable medical experts that it's getting boring. The only ones that ever talk about it are the anti-choicers who oh so wish it were true -- that'd serve us sluts right. Oh well, boring as it is, when this subject rears its ugly head I feel obliged to kick it to the curb with a steel-toed boot and do a short but vigorous little happy dance on its face. So at the risk of sounding like the Department of Redundancy Department, here (again) is why the PAPRI study is a steaming load of bullshit (and I'll type slowly):
(1) The study was commissioned by an anti-choice organization, so we can assume the skewing of questions and results to fit the agenda -- why else would they pay for it? (Strike one);
(2) The study was published in the Journal of American Physicians & Surgeons, the mouthpiece of the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, a small fringe of extreme right-wingers who formed the group to give themselves the appearance of having the same credibility as the American Medical Association. They don't. They are against Medicare, abortion and emergency contraception, don't believe humans cause global warming, claim that the "homosexual lifestyle" shortens lifespan, and believe "humanists" have conspired to replace "creation religion" with evolution. In other words, garden-variety wingnuts. And there's more: many AAPS leaders have also been linked to the nutty John Birch Society (the only real link in this post), and the AAPS isn't even listed in Medline or any other mainstream medical source -- they are, however, on Quackwatch, which lists their Journal as an "untrustworthy, non-recommended periodical". (Sterrrike two);
(3) The so-called link has been repeatedly rejected by the National Cancer Institute and leading breast cancer experts such as Dr. Susan Love (probably the world's foremost expert on breast cancer). (Steeeeerike Three! Yer out!)
Lifeshite wimps and whines about "shooting the messenger", but in this case to do otherwise would be like believing Dick Cheney when he talks about the imminent threat posed by Iran. The only people who'd believe anything he says at this point are the ones who just want an excuse to kick more Muslim ass.
And that is the last time I'll deal with this idiotic topic. Over & out!
Except for this update: Here's the Guardian story on the damn study that ran last month. I corresponded and assisted the writer, Libby Brooks, with some of the research for this.
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