The deVeber Institute
for Bioethics and Social Research

Ovarian cancer is one of the most fatal malignancies effecting women around the world. In 2009 it is estimated that 21,550 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the USA and 14,600 will die of the disease. The National Institute of Cancer estimates that each woman has a 1 in 71 chance of developing the disease in her lifetime.

A recent paper by Gierach et al. (2005) found that women who have previously been pregnant and then had an induced abortion had a 31 percent increased chance of developing ovarian cancer. Since over 1,000,000 abortions are performed annually in the US and 100,000 in Canada, a possible role between abortions and induced abortions cannot be ignored and should be further investigated to determine its role.