A new study from Oxford University finds that the slightly elevated risk of breast cancer due to use of hormonal birth control pills extends across all forms of hormonal birth control. While earlier findings showing a similar increased risk were based in the study of combination pills containing both estrogen and progestin–the kind of pill dominant in the 1990s–these more recent results take into account progestin-only “mini pills” and intrauterine devices (IUDs), showing that elevated risk remains consistent across all forms of hormonal birth control. Although the absolute elevation of risk is small (+.15% for women under 40 and +.5% for women under 50 years old), the results are significant given that the population of hormonal birth control users in their 20s and 30s have a lower background risk for the disease, and that progestin-only therapies were previously assumed to carry less risk than combination pills. The results are interesting, moreover, given the significant differences in functioning between hormonal birth control therapies.

Source: “Study finds same small rise in breast cancer risk in many forms of hormonal birth control,” STATNews (statnews.com)

These findings raise familiar feminist bioethical questions concerning our relative lack of knowledge about hormonal birth control and the predominant focus on modes of contraception that intervene in the reproductive capacities of people with uteruses rather than exploring alternative methods like the “male pill.” Of course, the risks with hormonal birth control methods should be considered alongside their demonstrated benefits. Gillian Reeves, director of cancer epidemiology at Oxford and researcher on the recent study underscored to StatNews that, especially in the context of elevated maternal morality rates in the United States, hormonal birth control is still less risky than childbirth.