Posted on 12/21/2005 5:30:14 PM PST by wagglebee
December 21, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Women are suing the makers of Depo-Provera birth control, saying it has caused them severe bone loss leading to osteoporosis.
A $700-million class-action lawsuit has been filed against the drug company Pfizer, an international pharmaceutical conglomerate that also produces the prescription drugs Viagra, Zoloft and Celebrex. Pfizer has come under fire in the past for alleged lethal side effects stemming from the use of the anti-depressant Zoloft, and the company currently faces a number of lawsuits in the U.S. over Celebrex, which is alleged to cause heart attacks in users.
The drug Depo-Provera acts as an abortifacient. Given by injections four times a year, the artificial hormone prevents a baby in the earliest stages of development from implanting on the wall of the uterus, leading to its death. The drug is effective in ending pregnancies more than 99% of the time, according to Pfizer’s website. Advertisers have acclaimed it as a “hassle and worry free” birth control method, saving women from daily pill popping.
Concerns that the drug also causes massive and partially irreversible bone loss in young women have led to three current lawsuits under way in Canada.
The drug has also been linked to increased susceptibility to STD’s in users, as much as three times higher than normal, according to one study.
Depo-Provera has been at the forefront of foreign-funded birth control programs in the developing world. Between 1994-2000, USAID sent over 40 million units of the drug to these programs, much of it going to Africa. Proponents of the medication have been accused of contributing to the spread of HIV in Africa by weakening women’s immune systems through use of the drug.
See LifeSiteNews coverage at:
‘Family Planning’ Groups Spreading AIDS in Africa with Depo Provera, New Study Warns
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/sep/04090803.html
The good Lord gave us 5 kids and we used his system to avoid anymore. Natural Family Planning works. No chemicals to screw up mom's body.
Do you really trust the drug companies to have your best interest in mind? Or are they in it for the $$$?
Okay, so you would rather teenage girls have abortions?????
Since Depo-Provera is a hormone, it would stand to reason that it might affect bone mineralization. This isn't a new revelation; it's just that people expect that a medication will solve their problems without any untoward effects. Usually it's a trade off; benefit vs. risk.
I figure the good Lord made doctors and scientist, so I'll use the things that they have provided.
I thank God for some of those things because without drugs I wouldn't have any children. I need progesterone to stay pregnant. I have 3 beautiful children.
I also use birth control because otherwise I would end up getting pregnant and either micarrying naturally or needing DNCs every few months. It's not much fun to have a natural miscarriange or a DNC, and I don't recommend them for anyone. I'll keep using my birth control.
Would it be fair for me to ask you if you would prefer that teenage girls grow up to have osteoporosis when they get older, or contract HIV or other STDs because they are using birth control?
One of the reasons I use depo is that it prevents ovulation and is not an abortifacient. I am pro-life and it bothers me that a pro-life site can't get its facts straight. Could it be that they are totally anti-birth control?
Both of these topics involve don't ask, don't tell.
I figure the most likely outcome of unprotected sex is pregnancy.
I prefer abstinence, but I am realistic to think that teenagers probably won't follow that. I would then want them to know about birth control.
It seems like taking calcium supplements would help with osteoporosis, and then condoms help with STDs and HIV.
Depo-provera is a great birth control alternative to many women, and I hope it is not taken off the market.
I do think that all information needs to be out there though so that women can make an informed decision rather than blindly accepting what the pharmaceutical companies say.
I'll agree with that. I was on depo-provera for about 6 months, and no one told me about calcium supplements. I just had one of the side-effects that I was aware of. I had lots of bleeding. It wasn't a good choice for me.
How'd you get him to do that? My hubby can't even bring himself to think of it....
I think people also don't read the pamplets that come with medications, and then they are surprised about the side effects.
One of my daughters has brain damage, and I took her to a psychologist when she was three because she was having terrible temper tantrums. The first thing the psychologist started talking about was medications. I never went back to that psychologist, and at 9 my daughter is pretty well-behaved 90% of the time. (Still has the tantrums, but under much better control without medication.)
My other daughter has asthma, and I thank God for her medication. She would be dead without it. I do know the risks involved with her medication, and I am very careful about it. I just know that the risk without the medication is death.
I do understand about the problems associated with having to take medications to save your life but I also know about having to live with the damage from the side effects. The medical condition I had where I was put on the pill was a direct side effect from having to take prednisone for an extended time when I was younger. Let's just say it really thoroughly screwed up my adrenals and endocrine system.
That is why I do believe that it is imperative for all information be given and explained to people before hand so that they can make an informed choice.
My other half broke her back about 30 years ago. About every third period I used to live with Godzilla. Now she's on a nice even keel, and has no more nasty back aches.
No, they would be much better to be out of reach of lawsuits, they would have more money with which to develop new drugs. It would be win for them and us.
According to these extremist zealots, just about any contraceptive "kills babies". Don't bother trying to point out facts to them -- they're not interested. Their goal is to prevent anyone from ever having sex without fear of pregnancy. This "LifeSite" puts out reams of junk science, and has an eager audience of gullible people who will unhesitatingly swallow this sort of stuff. Same audience continues to believe the thoroughly debunked "abortion causes breast cancer" claim. As for the side claim in this article that Depo-Provera increases the rate of STDs, well duh! Anybody who uses an oral contraceptive, or NO contraceptive, instead of a condom is raising their risk for STDs. Has nothing to do with the oral contraceptive "causing" the increase in STDs, it has to do with the condoms reducing the incidence of STDs -- just keep using the condom along with Depo-Provera, and there will be no increase in STDs. But the LifeSite people don't mention this because they aren't interested in preventing STDs, they're interested in preventing sex.
Yes, precisely. And they don't mind lying to advance their cause.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.