Steph Shaw brings up an important topic in her column "Keeping women safe," (Jan. 24). Women's health is an issue that must be discussed candidly and detached from political or emotional bias. Shaw praises organizations like Planned Parenthood that offer birth control, which she views as vital to women's health. But, is birth control safe? What are the effects of the hormones found in birth control?
In the last several years, more and more individuals are opting not to eat meat due to the risk associated with the hormones used in raising cattle and poultry. Last fall, The New York Times ran a front page article warning women to not eat red meat as studies have shown that there is a link between beef hormones and breast cancer. On the same day, buried in the back pages, was a report from the Mayo Clinic on extensive research that in summary indicts oral contraceptives as putting premenopausal women at significantly increased risk for breast cancer. According to the Mayo Clinic, the analysis of over 34 studies found that women who took oral contraceptives prior to pregnancy experienced an increased risk of breast cancer]of 44 percent.
This is a virulent threat to women's health! The pill that so many women take and are told by Planned Parenthood that is safe increases the risk of breast cancer! But this news is not new. So why don't we hear about these serious threats to women's health?
Why does a prestigious newspaper such as The New York Times not put such a story, from one of the most reputable medical clinics in the world, on the front page of its paper? Why are the real risks to women's health not exposed? Why are doctors not telling their women patients that in 2005 the World Health Organization officially classified oral contraceptives as a class one carcinogen as reported by the Mayo Clinic. Why are we not addressing these real threats to women's health?
Elyse Smith
CLAS I
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