The inclusion of the 12-page advertisement from the Human Life Alliance in the Feb. 24 edition of the Daily Bruin was both appalling and shocking to us as UCLA graduate students, scientists and clinicians. Numerous claims within the insert were factually misleading and scientifically erroneous. We will focus on two of the most egregious errors in the publication:
Page five of the advertisement included a section on the purported long-term effects of abortion, including clinical depression, or so-called “post-abortion syndrome.” Here is the science:
“¢bull; In 1990, the American Psychological Association convened a group of experts in this field, finding that studies with the most scientifically rigorous research designs consistently found no trace of “post-abortion syndrome.”
“¢bull; Many studies done since then further corroborate the American Psychological Association’s conclusions, including a 2008 study from Johns Hopkins University.
Page nine of the advertisement includes a section on the purported link between abortion and breast cancer. Here is the science:
“¢bull; In 2003, the National Cancer Institute convened the world’s leading experts to assess all studies on this issue. They concluded that having an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman’s subsequent risk of developing breast cancer.
Given that one-third of American women will have an abortion by age 45, it is extremely unfortunate that the Daily Bruin was complicit in the promulgation of myths and misinformation about this topic.
We encourage the Daily Bruin to include a well-researched, balanced news piece on reproductive health issues in a subsequent issue.
Gipson is an assistant professor at the UCLA School of Public Health. This submission was also signed by Janet Pregler, a professor of clinical medicine, the director of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Center, and the center director for the UCLA National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health; Paula Tavrow, the director of the UCLA Bixby Program in Population and Reproductive Health; and Philip Massey, Courtney Burks and Adam Cohen, who are students at the UCLA School of Public Health and the co-presidents of the Reproductive Health Interest Group.