Oral Contraceptives declared carcinogenic by World Health Organization

By Mary Worthington

Suppose a young woman is taking The Pill because she heard that it will regulate her period and reduce her menstrual cramping. Women also justify chemical contraceptives for the sake of clearing acne, loosing weight or preventing endometriosis. Other women are required to take oral contraceptives as a requirement for other prescription drugs, such as Accutane.

These seemingly beneficial side effects of oral contraceptives are only half of the story.

In a July, 2005 press release, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Health Organization classified estrogen-progesterone birth control pills as "carcinogenic to humans" [1]. Carcinogenic means "cancer-causing." Chemical contraceptives were previously considered "probably carcinogenic to humans."

They also "stressed that there is no convincing evidence that oral contraceptives (OCs) have a protective effect against some types of cancer." They go on to admit that OCs increase the risk of some cancers (breast, cervix and liver) while decreasing the risk of others (endometrial and ovarian). Because of this benefit and risk relationship, it is hardly responsible for only one side of the information to be given to women, especially when it is sold primarily on the basis of these so-called benefits.

It does not seem logical that any woman would place her body at risk for these deadly cancers, even if for the sake of reducing the risk of other cancers. Meanwhile, in the process a woman on The Pill is destroying her fertility. Medical doctors and researchers agree that one of the best ways to prevent some common cancers (such as breast cancer [2]) in women is to conceive and bear a child and to breastfeed naturally. This is the body's natural means of protecting itself from cancer.

Why isn't this information shared with women? Maybe it’s time for women to rethink taking The Pill for the so-called health benefits.

ENDNOTES:

[1] “IARC Monographs Programme Finds Combined Estrogen-Progestogen Contraceptives and Menopausal Therapy Are Carcinogenic to Humans,” available at www.iarc.fr/ENG/Press_Releases/pr167a.html; accessed Feb 16, 2006.
[2] “The ABC Link” from the Coalition on Abortion/ Breast Cancer at www.abortionbreastcancer.com/The_Link.htm; accessed Feb 16, 2006. It says, “It was found that the relative risk of breast cancer declined 4.3% for each 12 months of breastfeeding and 7.0% for every birth.”
 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Worthington is the co-founder of No Room for Contraception.  She has been active in the pro-life movement for six years, and has had a special interest in exposing the harms of contraception for the past ten years.  Mary is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville with a BA in Theology and minor in Human Life Studies.