Abortion - Breast Cancer Hypothesis

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The abortion-breast cancer hypothesis posits that induced abortion increases the risk of developing breast cancer. In early pregnancy, levels of estrogen increase, leading to breast growth in preparation for lactation. The hypothesis proposes that if this process is interrupted by an abortion-before full maturity in the third trimester-then more relatively vulnerable immature cells could be left than there were prior to the pregnancy, resulting in a greater potential risk of breast cancer over time. The hypothesis mechanism was first proposed and explored in rat studies conducted in the 1980s. The abortion-breast cancer hypothesis has been the subject of extensive scientific inquiry, and the scientific community has concluded that abortion does not cause breast cancer.