Pro-life billboards connecting abortion and breast cancer are raising hackles around the region.

About three weeks ago, a blitz of billboards paid for by the Pro-Life Education Foundation (PLEF) started appearing throughout the region with the following proclamation: FACT: ABORTION INCREASES BREAST CANCER RISK BY 30%.

Around that same time, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) released a study that concluded, "There is no evidence that having an abortion increases the risk of breast cancer later in life." The NCI, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training.

Despite the new medical findings, which are posted on the government's website (www.cancer.gov), the PLEF says it has no intention of taking down any of the 22 billboards that are now stationed on neighborhood streets in all five Philadelphia-area counties.

"This denial has been in place for 25 years," says John Stanton, who describes himself as a PLEF member. "There's a general denial about anything negative regarding abortion; anything that's negative about the Œsexual revolution' is suppressed. We certainly have no thought of taking [the billboards] down."

Stanton says that research done by his organization has shown that 30 studies, most conducted by independent physicians and reported in publications such as The New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Epidemiology, have reached different conclusions.

"The truth is that there is a link," he says. "Scientists have proven this and we think mothers should know. This is such a crucial issue for women that it's a shame that there are two sides to this story when there is only one truth." Stanton would not divulge how much the ad campaign is costing his private organization, but added, "I'm willing to spend a couple of bucks" to continue it.

George Kauker, president and general manager of Clear Channel Outdoor in Philadelphia, the multimedia conglomerate that owns the billboards used by PLEF, says that Stanton purchased the billboard space just prior to the release of the new NCI study. Kauker added that, in his estimation, Stanton had provided sufficient proof that his claim was factual.

"Everything that [John Stanton] presented to me indicated that there is a link between abortion and breast cancer," says Kauker, who has final discretion over what gets posted. "But, if I saw evidence to the contrary, I would not allow that billboard to go back up. In fact, there have been other messages that Stanton has asked to be advertised that I have not allowed because I found them questionable."

An NCI spokesperson says that the agency will not take a position on the validity of the billboards because its primary function is to address science -- not politics. "That abortion fact sheet [posted on our website] is our statement," says Peggy Vaughn, NCI press officer. "We don't go beyond making scientific observations."

The NCI website acknowledges that for decades medical research has been both contradictory and inconclusive about links between abortion and breast cancer. On March 21, the site was updated to read: "The relationship between induced and spontaneous abortion and breast cancer risk has been the subject of exhaustive research since the 1950s. Until the mid-1990s, the evidence was inconsistent. Findings from some studies suggested there was no increase in risk of breast cancer among women who had had an abortion, while findings from other studies suggested there was an increased risk. Most of the studies, however, were flawed in a number of ways that can lead to unreliable results. Since then, better-designed studies have been conducted. The newer studies consistently showed no association between induced and spontaneous abortions and breast cancer risk."

Members of other local organizations say they are appalled that the PLEF has erected the signs, in view of conclusive evidence to the contrary.

"It's absolutely frightening to women," says Dorothy Lohmann, government and media relations coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania. "To prey on women's fears is totally irresponsible. How can anti-choice people get away with this big lie?"

Dan Segal, a Philadelphia-based attorney who specializes in First Amendment issues, says that unless someone's reputation is on the line, this kind of advertising by private organizations is perfectly legal.

"These people are totally free to say things that are false -- unless there's a claim of defamation against them," Segal says. "This is a public issue and it's also political. In this case, however, no reputations are being hurt -- it's simply a false statement and they can do what they want."

At the PLEF offices located in Lansdale, a volunteer who mans the phones suggests that organizations like Planned Parenthood have their own agenda.

"I've known women who've had abortions and then they've gotten breast cancer," says someone who identified himself only as John. "There's a whole biological side to it that shows that [as a result of abortion] certain genes can leak and can cause breast cancer. Those people at Planned Parenthood wouldn't want that information to get out. Abortion is a business. Those people would lose a lot of money."

Leslie Anastasio, executive director of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League of Pennsylvania (NARAL-PA), says she believes the NCI has finally done the necessary investigation to dismiss the age-old question. "The NCI had conflicting information on their website," she says. "That's what prompted this call for them to do additional research."

Anastasio points out that since 1981, more than two dozen other studies have been published by organizations such as the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists detailing reliable medical facts that dispel the connection.

"[The PLEF] information is neither factually nor medically accurate," she says. "It's a scare tactic. This is not about women's health. It's to promote their own moral agenda. In my opinion, it's totally anti-American and deplorable. It's just so frightening to me that they're willing to go to these lengths to control women and their lives."