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Breast implants in focus after cancer death

Two women have developed serious illnesses after they received defective French-made silicone breast implants. Last week, a woman died from lymphatic cancer thought to have been contracted from her breast implants.

Published: 28 November 2011 11:41 CET

The implants shown here are not PIP implants.

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A 36-year-old woman called Leaticia was diagnosed last month with ruptured breast implants, according to the French daily Aujourd’hui en France.

Her implants burst six months ago and the silicone gel has leaked into her shoulders, breasts and ribs. Leaticia was operated on in Spain where she received breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothèses (PIP).

Another women who received PIP implants has been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. It is not yet clear what caused the cancer, but doctors advising a group representing the victims of PIP breast implants suspect the silicone gel used in PIP implants.

French implant manufacturer PIP was closed down by health authorities last year after they discovered the company was using non-medical silicone gel in implants which were twice as likely to rupture as other products in the same category. The company CEO is accused of fraud.

While it is feared that the silicone gel used in the PIP implants is linked to cancer, French health watchdog AFFSAPS has not been able to establish a link.

Last week, a woman – the first in France – died of lymphatic cancer in the southern city of Marseille after her PIP breast implants burst.

It is feared 44,000 women are still carrying PIP breast implants, which were sold in France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

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Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe.

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus.

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account.

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark.

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said.

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973.

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