(Aug.
6, 2008) Released in 2001, the birth control
patch promised to be the answer for many
women seeking a convenient form of contraception.
But, like many new forms of birth control,
that's where the good news seems to have
ended. In the last seven years, at least
three thousand women have sued Johnson & Johnson,
the makers of the Ortho Evra patch.
Rhonda Sloan, of Oakley, California, noticed a shortness of breath and a pain in her chest after she began using the Ortho Evra patch. A CT scan discovered a blood clot in her lung. Rhonda believes that the patch caused the clot. "I didn't have any issues taking the pill, not getting sick or anything like that, and with the patch, it only took me three months to make me sick," Sloan said.
Rhonda is one of thousands of women suing Johnson and Johnson over its patch, which has been used by four million women. Its once-a-week use is its claim to convenience.
In 2005, the FDA forced the company to state on its label that the product exposes women to higher levels of estrogen than most birth control pills.
This has been noted by numerous law firms representing women who claim injury due to the patch. “Women who use the Ortho Evra patch receive a dose of estrogen that is 60% higher than that of birth control pills,” states the website www.birthcontrolpatchsideeffects.com, sponsored by Hissey Kientz, one of the firms.
“Women who use the patch are three times as likely to suffer blood clots or other Ortho Evra side effects than users of oral contraceptives,” states the Hissey Kientz website. “Many young women have died as a result of blood clots, heart attack, strokes or other side effects of Ortho Evra.”
One law firm noted the duplicity in the manufacturer's claims concerning the levels of estrogen and incidences of blot clots after the patch's use. They were actually higher than those of the average birth control pill. “Johnson & Johnson, based on its own studies, knew that — but delayed telling the FDA and the public,” said Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky P.C., of Philadelphia.Ortho Evra's website, operated by Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which is part of Johnson & Johnson, admits that there are “serious as well as minor side effects” with the patch, which no other company has produced.
Women in Berwyn, Cicero, Lyons, Forest Park, La Grange, Stickney, IL and other area communities can contact WomanCare Services with regard to abortion, free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds. Sources:
FDA
Warning of Ortho Evra
Rhonda's
side effects on BurgSimpson website
Birth
Control Patch Side Effects website
Monheit
Law, specializing
in Ortho Evra lawsuits
Ortho
Evra company website
| Please call us to make an appointment for a free pregnancy test at (708) 795-6000. |
Serving clients in Berwyn, Cicero, Stickney, Riverside, North Riverside, Forest View, Lyons, Brookfield, La Grange, Westchester, Broadview, Forest Park, Hillside, Bellwood, Maywood, Melrose Park, River Forest, Oak Park and Forest Park, IL and other areas.
Abortion and Birth Control News is a project of TreeFrogClick, Inc. President, Kevin J. Banet