Posted on 11/26/2005 5:56:51 PM PST by Coleus
When the parents of 14 year-old Alycia Brown of La Crosse Wisconsin found out their daughter was sexually active, they did what the modern culture told them was the right thing to do; they put her on birth control, choosing the popular hormonal patch instead of the Pill. When on May 7, 2004, Alycia died suddenly of blood clots in her lower pelvis Michael and Lorie Brown decided to sue the deadly drug's manufacturer in the hopes of having it taken off the market.
The patch, which releases a dose of contraceptive hormones into a woman's blood stream through the skin, has been responsible for at least 17 deaths in women age 17 to 30 since its release in 2002, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
In September 2004, a study by the FDA revealed 21 "life-threatening" conditions related to the patch such as blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks. The Browns' lawsuit claims the company intentionally withheld information from its own clinical trials and Food and Drug Administration records suggesting the increased risks.
Thus far, Alycia is the youngest of the patch's victims. Her mother told the La Crosse Tribune that the suit is only partly about collecting damages. "More than anything, I want it taken off the market," she said.
"Maybe I'll be able to save a life, if people know what happened to her."
Earlier this month, Ortho-McNeil agreed to improve the warnings on the labels for the patch to include the information that it had possible fatal side effects. The company admitted that the patch exposes women to about 60 percent more estrogen than those using typical birth-control pills.
Read Previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Ortho McNeil Corp Admits Birth Control Patch Blood Clot Connection
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/nov/05111404.html
Contact the FDA to request that the drug be taken off the market:
U. S. Food and Drug Administration
5600 Fishers Lane,
Rockville MD 20857-0001
1-888-INFO-FDA
(1-888-463-6332)
and your elected officials www.congress.org
Just like aspirin!
Aspirin has killed many more people than this patch.
And death during pregnancy still happens. How many girls has the patch already saved?
Precisely. Parents who facilitate the sexual activity of their 14 year old daughter are encouraging rape.
I think one has to view her parents as aiding and abetting her death.
Deep veinous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli are a long known complication of estrogens and their congenures. I suspect a settlement will make it go away. The company who owns the drug does not want a trial.
Good answer.
I beg to differ dear Lady, but it is as simple as that.
Keep your legs crossed, be forceful avoiding it and everything will be a OK.
In this case The Parent[s] failed; instead to teach their daughter how to handle it, they simply chose the short cut, medicating their 14 Years Old daughter with contraceptives, and expecting miracles.
Well, it looks like it backfired, and it is a crying shame thet a young girl had to die to prove it.
"Dads and the media need to start teaching their boys to be gentlemen AND their girls (and boys) to be chaste."
I think this is a point often overlooked.
My daughter also took this medication. All the necessary papers were signed and the risk was known. If someone is so stupid as to ignore the risk then the blame is on them, not the doctors who warned them. No, it shouldn't be taken off the market because of stupid people.
It hasn't saved anyone, but it's probably damned a few.
I would think that a 14-year-old girl would have more important priorities in her life than to have sex.
Properly supervised 14-year-old girls do not just "walk out the door," tart themselves up, and go into an environment where they're hooking up with 19-year-old men. 14yo kids belong under responsible adult supervision.
Yes, it does just happen and for many of the reasons you stated but it also happens because a child is so smothered and so restricted that it is rebellion in its truest form.
Thanks for the additional info.
The patch has a huge list of side effects and the manufacturers make that clear in their ads and the literature. Nobody forced these parents to give this poison to their daughter. They made this deadly choice for themselves.
Excuse me, but if it "just happens," then there aren't reasons.
but it also happens because a child is so smothered and so restricted that it is rebellion in its truest form.
Bovine scatology. If they're "smothered" and "restricted" they can't go anywhere and can't do anything. Trust me, I've forgotten more about being "smothered and restricted" than you're likely to know. It didn't kill me, and I certainly wasn't screwing around at 14 ... or 18 ... or 21. And I was married at 28 and am still married to the same lady, so it evidently didn't traumatize me permanently. You don't need to tell me about being "smothered and restricted".
Those who had sex with her should be charged with statutory rape. If any were adults, they should be hung by their you know whats.
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.