Last month, The New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial by R. Alta Charo, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin. In the editorial, Charo sharply criticizes Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appointees Valerie Huber, Teresa Manning, Charmaine Yoest, and Katy Talento. Charo takes particular issue with Yoest’s past assertions that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. She also criticizes Manning’s concerns about the efficacy of contraception programs and Huber’s support of abstinence-only sex education. Charo states that these four appointees use “alternative facts” and “are also known for a disregard for rigorous research.”
None of these critiques are particularly inventive. Similar attacks on President Trump’s HHS appointees have been published by a range of left-wing publications, including HuffPost, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. More importantly, none of these four women have even slightly unreasonable views on public-health issues.
For instance, backing up Yoest’s view is a body of peer-reviewed research dating back to the 1950s finding that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. Skeptics of the abortion–breast cancer link frequently cite the Danish study by Melbye et al., published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1997, arguing that it is the methodologically strongest study on the topic. But even that study found that abortions after 18 weeks of gestation are correlated with a statistically significant increase in the risk of breast cancer.
Regarding contraception, there are many studies in both economics and public-health journals, from a variety of authors, showing that expanded access to contraception — by means of legalization, distribution, or subsidies — fails to reduce unintended-pregnancy rates. Just this summer, economists David Paton and Liam Wright published a thorough study in the Journal of Health Economics, finding that recent cuts to sex-education and contraception programs in Great Britain led to reductions in teen pregnancy rates.
New England Journal of Medicine Trashes Pro-Lifers Instead of Publishing Science | LifeNews.com
None of these critiques are particularly inventive. Similar attacks on President Trump’s HHS appointees have been published by a range of left-wing publications, including HuffPost, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. More importantly, none of these four women have even slightly unreasonable views on public-health issues.
For instance, backing up Yoest’s view is a body of peer-reviewed research dating back to the 1950s finding that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. Skeptics of the abortion–breast cancer link frequently cite the Danish study by Melbye et al., published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1997, arguing that it is the methodologically strongest study on the topic. But even that study found that abortions after 18 weeks of gestation are correlated with a statistically significant increase in the risk of breast cancer.
Regarding contraception, there are many studies in both economics and public-health journals, from a variety of authors, showing that expanded access to contraception — by means of legalization, distribution, or subsidies — fails to reduce unintended-pregnancy rates. Just this summer, economists David Paton and Liam Wright published a thorough study in the Journal of Health Economics, finding that recent cuts to sex-education and contraception programs in Great Britain led to reductions in teen pregnancy rates.
New England Journal of Medicine Trashes Pro-Lifers Instead of Publishing Science | LifeNews.com
