Jerry Brown "There Is No Evidence That Mammograms Are Effective"

California Gubernatorial Candidate Jerry Brown may very well get another endorsement from a major Woman's advocacy group. Yesterday the day after The Los Angeles Times distributed an audio taped conversation between him and an associate, inadvertently left on a police union official’s voice mail, where Brown and his associate were discussing how to brand opponent Meg Whitman a whore, the Democratic Candidate for Governor received the endorsement from the National Organization For Women (NOW). This latest video from Politico shows Brown in 1995 discussing Hillarycare, and arguing that mammograms should not be covered because there is no evidence that they are effective. Is an endorsement from Susan B Komen for the Cure be far behind?

The comment about mammograms came during an episode of “Firing Line” in October 1995, when Brown was a guest on the William F. Buckley Jr. show. He sat alongside feminist and commentator Susan Estrich during a discussion about government regulations that dealt with the death of the Clinton administration health reform proposal.

Estrich discussed the component of the plan that had dealt with mammograms. "Can we get off of mammograms?” Brown interjected. “I mean, first of all, if you read the Lancet Magazine in July, there's no statistical evidence that mammograms help anyone at any age. “So it's July 1995, Lancet Magazine. Okay? It's there. Now I don't want to argue that case,” he added, as Estrich started to object. “ I just want to throw it out there."

Former Delaware Gov. Pete du Pont interrupted, "But you ought to have the option — if you think they're going to help you, if you think they're going to help you, you ought to have the option of having one."

Brown replied, “Ten thousand women, three women will be saved for one year."

Frankly he is correct, there are questions regarding the effectiveness of mammograms because they generate false positives. The argument that Lancelot was making was when you include the cost of unnecessary biopsies, mammograms are more costly than they seem. But then again that is the problem with government health care, they look at the cost of keeping someone alive, the rest of us look as a life as something so precious it is priceless.


By agreeing with the Lancelot article, Jerry Brown Champion of NOW, is showing the lack of compassion he will have for human life should he be elected governor.

Asked for comment, Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford said, “That is indeed what (the Lancet story) says. The debate about the effectiveness of various cancer screenings has been going on for years.”

He added, ‘Fifteen years ago, as a radio host, Jerry participated in discussions about it. He never said, don't get screened for cancer, he never said the government shouldn't pay for cancer screening. And while this clip is about mammograms specifically, he also talked about prostate cancer screening at times, so trying to make this a gender issue is a bit silly. Jerry Brown opposes cancer in all cases.”

Asked if he believes in mammography, Clifford said, “He believes in people not getting cancer, has not followed developments in the effectiveness of various specific cancer screenings.”

In other words his opinions haven't changed.   Way to go NOW, you just endorsed a guy who doesn't think mammograms should be covered by insurance.