Consent to any operation is meaningless unless fully informed. The consensus in the medical literature is that abortion does increase the incidence of breast cancer. This information is of obvious significance to women who may consider having an abortion, and their consent without it is legally deficient.

Failure to diagnose breast cancer has become the most popular type of malpractice lawsuit. To save lives and guard against possible lawsuits, physicians should warn of the link prior to the operation and be vigilant looking for breast cancer in patients who have a medical history of abortion.

Reprinted with Permission from www.aapsonline.org and www.jpands.org

Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Volume 10 Number 1 Spring 2005