Bare breasts on TV: Healthy?

WJLA, a cable news station in Washington, D.C., aired a prime-time segment featuring an uncensored semi-nude woman examining her breasts as a precaution against cancer. The station says it was simply providing a medical service to viewers, but critics say it was just trying to boost ratings. Was it really necessary to bare all on prime-time TV? (Watch the controversial WJLA report of an uncensored breast exam)

This serves a serious purpose: Conservative groups such as Concerned Women for America have said this was strictly for ratings, says Dr. Logan Levkoff in The Huffington Post. "You know what? I don't care." People need to think more about how to stay healthy. "Knowing how to do self-exams saves lives."

"Those Bad Breasts"

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This was just a publicity stunt: Most of the women watching already know how to check themselves for breast cancer, says Lily Robertson in Seacoast Online, and men couldn't give "two figs" about women's health. So this was a publicity stunt, "pure and simple." Women are smart enough to care about their own health without "some cheeky broad giving us a Girls Gone Wise medical display."

"Live! Nude! Girl!"

The video was misleading: There's a "bigger question here," says Tami Dennis in the Los Angeles Times. Are breast self-exams even necessary? "Many experts aren't so sure." Self-exams can "increase unnecessary testing and biopsies," and create anxiety. The "crucial" thing to remember is that the self-exam is "NOT a substitute for regular breast examinations from your doctor."

"Video aside, the bigger question is whether a breast self exam is needed"