WHO – Oral Contraception Group 1 Carcinogen

Would you drink a nice cup of benzene for breakfast, every day?  No?  Well, if you take artificial, oral contraception (the pill), you may as well – it has a similar cancer potential as benzene, arsenic, and asbestos – it is a group 1 carcinogen, the most potent type of carcinogen:

Perhaps the best-kept secret of modern medicine is the link between oral contraceptives and increased breast cancer risk.

While combined oral contraceptives, better known as The Pill, rank as Group I carcinogens according to a 2005 report released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, doctors continue to routinely prescribe the pill for a variety of conditions, ranging from acne to birth control (American Cancer Society, 2008)….

Among pro-lifers and faithful Catholics who have an interest in the subject, this is not exactly a new revelation, but it is interesting to see confirmation from the World Health Organization that the pill poses a severe cancer risk.  Breast cancer rates have exploded over the past 40 years, beginning a rapid increase a decade or so after the pill became widely available. 

Looking over the list of Group 1 carcinogens, the estrogen and progesterone that make up the pill are striking in being about the only ‘pharmaceuticals’ on the list.  The vast majority are heavy industrial chemicals.  It is amazing to me that doctors prescribe these very powerful drugs like they’re handing out candy.  It’s amazing that women take them for years on end, with the vast majority having no idea of their great cancer potential.  This truly putting money ahead of patient care, isn’t it?  Are we really willing to poison ourselves (because the estrogen and progesterone are finding their way into our water supplies in disturbing quantities) for the sake of convenience, to have that frightening, powerful control over such an intimate aspect of our bodies?  What are we willing to sacrifice, collectively, to be as fecund as possible while having the immense power to limit the number of children to the perfect two, or one, or zero? 

Apparently, a great deal.  I remind all that God will not be mocked.

UPDATE: Related.  FDA orders safety review of birth control pills due to deaths from blood clots.