Science and Society Science and Society | Page 13

Abortion-breast cancer hypothesis states that abortion increases the risk of women getting breast cancer. The National Cancer Institute is an interest group that was pressured by the Bush administration, who were mostly republicans, to modified scientific research to speak against what scientists conducted as irrelevant matters, abortion does not cause breast cancer, to discourage abortion.

Increasingly governments are manipulating scientific facts especially in the fields of health care and climate change. Government are pressuring scientists to misconduct the research to be able to manipulate the society. Either through over exaggerating or underestimating the research governments try to induce public fear. For example in the medical health care field government agencies who support the manufacturing of a product suppress those who conduct a research suggesting that the product does more damage than good. Same applies to the climate change research.

In conclusion it is highly tempting to manipulate scientific facts to support ones’ own ideology or policy especially in politics. Abuses have been reported and the media has scandalized violations, however in some countries even the media is threatened and suppressed by the government, in authoritarian and totalitarian regimes this in highly common. The human nature is essentially selfish and bias. It is very hard, especially for governments, to admit that they may have made a mistake towards their own people, fearing the people would revolt against their own government. However manipulating scientific facts to your own benefit can cause serious damage, maybe the damage is not apparent today, but it will surely emerge in the near future, like the Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

By: Reham El Morally