Press Releases and Correspondence
CMA Statement on Maine Middle School Contraception Program
DATELINE October 31, 2007 – Anyone concerned with the well-being of children should be alarmed by the actions of the Portland School Committee, says Dr. Robert J. Saxer, M.D., a pediatrician for over 40 years and currently president of the Board of the Catholic Medical Association.
On October 17, 2007, the Portland School Committee voted to make contraception – including prescription contraceptives such as oral contraceptive pills and patches – available to students aged 11-14 at King Middle School without the knowledge or consent of their parents. While much attention in the media has focused on lack of respect for parents’ rights and the undoubted deleterious effect that this action will have on students’ moral formation, no one has adequately noted the danger this measure poses to the health of young girls.
A meta-analysis (a review of 39 case-control scientific studies from 1980-2002) published in the October 2006 issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings showed that taking oral contraceptives prior to pregnancy increases women’s risk of premenopausal breast cancer by at least 44%. Breast cancer rates have been rising even as most other cancer rates have been declining. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1 in 5 women who get breast cancer will do so prior to age 50. In addition, the World Health Organization has labeled oral contraceptives as a Group I carcinogen (the most dangerous type).
Moreover, Kahlenborn notes, “there is every reason to believe that the newer contraceptive hormonal patches will cause the same degree of increased risk of premenopausal breast cancer as today's low dose contraceptives, since they both contain the same or similar hormones.” In fact, other significant health problems have been linked to hormonal patches, including blood clots, strokes and heart attacks, because users are exposed to higher levels of estrogen.
Dr. Saxer concluded that “the decision of the Portland, Maine school board is bad public policy and particularly dangerous for the health of young girls. It should be reversed as soon as possible and must not be allowed to set a precedent for Maine or any other state.”
The Catholic Medical Association is the nation’s largest professional organization of Catholic physicians. More information on the CMA can be found at http://www.cathmed.org.
