Eric Abetz still credits disproven 1950s claims about abortion and cancer – here are some other findings he may have missed

Eric Abetz, this is why we don't believe 1950s abortion science any more

In “honour” of senior government minister Eric Abetz’s ability to completely disregard modern medical research and science – he favours questionable studies dating back to the 50s that he claims show a link between abortion and breast cancer – Guardian Australia has revived other previously held but spectacularly wrong beliefs about health from that era.

Virtually every major health organisation and professional body has carried out extensive analysis on studies linking breast cancer and abortion, and have unanimously agreed that there is no causative link.

While no one seems to have told Abetz that association does not always equal causation, let’s join him in disregarding this essential mantra of science for a moment to consider;

Thalidomide

Thousands of babies were born limbless, with spinal cord defects, and heart and genital abnormalities, because this sedative was widely prescribed to mothers in the 50s to offer relief from morning sickness. By 1961 it became apparent that the drug was causing the horrific effects in children, and it was widely banned.

But the effects of ignoring what we now know about the drug are devastating. Thalidomide is still sometimes used for the treatment of leprosy – including in pregnant women – in rural areas of the world that lack resources. Babies are continuing to be born suffering from the effects of the drug.

Lobotomies

For two decades, lobotomies – now considered to be devastating experimental procedures on the brain – were a common way of treating psychiatric patients. Cutting away vital connections in the brain, usually associated with emotion, was considered such an effective “cure” for mental illness that by the 1950s it was mainstream.

The theory was that people displaying moodiness could be “cured” by no longer being able to express intense feelings associated with schizophrenia, chronic pain and depression.

According to National Public Radio, about 50,000 people were subject to lobotomies in the US, most of them between 1949 and 1952. The first US case of an ice-pick lobotomy was carried out on a housewife, Sallie Ionesco, to quieten her down and make her less emotional. The ice-pick procedure involved giving people brutal electric shocks until they passed out, before hammering a tool resembling an ice-pick through the top of the eye socket.

We now know Ionesco was likely suffering from depression and would today be prescribed counselling and/or medication. The same could be said for the ‘forgotten’ Kennedy, Rosemary, who underwent the operation in 1941 and was left largely paralysed and unable to speak.

Tobacco

In this era of banning smoking in outdoor dining areas, and with many young people unable to remember a time when smoking was allowed indoors, it may be hard to believe that tobacco was once doctor-approved.

“As ad campaigns featuring physicians developed through the early 1950s, tobacco executives used the doctor image to assure the consumer that their respective brands were safe,” this piece in the American Journal of Public Health says.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Camels tobacco ad featuring a doctor to allay health fears. Source: http:/playingintheworldgame.wordpress.com

According to research into the history of tobacco advertising; “the last-gasp attempt by a tobacco company to ally itself with physicians came in 1953, when the Lorillard company appealed to physicians as they promoted their new filter cigarette, Kent. These advertisements queried, “Have you tried this experiment, doctor?” and “Why is it, doctor, that one filter cigarette gives so much more protection than any other?”

Homosexuality

According to the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute of Mental Health, homosexuality was considered a mental illness up until 1973.

More enlightened attitudes came too late for many people who had to endure malpractice at the hands of the medical establishment and widespread discrimination in general.

Gay people were often institutionalised. The Australian spy agency, ASIO, kept files on known homosexuals in case they were communist sympathisers.

Homophobia still exists in our healthcare system. This study from just last year described the health system as harsh towards lesbians and often unable to meet their needs.

Although the idea that that gay people need to be cured is considered extreme, many continue to be forced into pseudo-scientific “treatment” programs aimed at curing them of their homosexuality. The Republican party in Texas recently considered adopting “reparative therapy” for gays.

Dexedrine

Pregnant women have suffered through some of the most unscientific applications of drugs in history. The belief that they should gain as little weight as possible throughout their pregnancy led to them being prescribed the amphetamine, Dexedrine, in order to suppress their appetite throughout the 50s and 60s.

The drug is most commonly used now to treat attention deficit disorder in adults and children.

Weight gain of more than just a few kilograms was seen as something to be concerned about and a possible sign of swelling or pre-eclampsia.

Steady weight gain during pregnancy is now regarded as normal. In fact, not gaining enough weight can lead to complications including pre-term delivery and delivering an underweight baby. There are also much better tests to detect complications such as pre-eclampsia than just looking at weight gain.

Poor advice about weight, especially for women, is still widespread, usually at the hands of rogue doctors like “Dr Oz” and the diet industry. Oz has consistently made claims not backed by science and has been criticised by US senators.

The medical profession, however, is largely on top of the pseudoscience. The beauty of science is that as studies are replicated and data builds, it tends to be self-correcting.

Let’s hope Abetz has the gall to be as well.