Congress And The FDA Need To Pull The Birth Control Patch To Insure The Right To Life Of Women

According to a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention strokes were the number 3 killer of women in the United States in 2002. 8 percent of the deaths of American women were attributed to strokes compared with the 5.2 percent of men which means a woman is approximately 54% more likely to die from stroke than a man. This is even though men are more self destructive; numbering suicide, homicide and other such causes of death in their top 10.

Are the lifestyles of men and women so vastly different or is it that women are more susceptible to strokes? Perhaps, but there is a certain difference in that women use birth control products that are known to cause stroke. The FDA approves these products for the "noble" goal of population control and considers the women loss of life and health to side effects such as stroke as acceptable casualties.

Here we have a report of Ortho Evra birth control patch and the increased risk of stroke it carries which is 14 times higher than the pill. I wonder what percent of women using the pill or patch that comes up to? What I do know from the article is that there were 500 reports of serious complications from the patch while only 61 of all types of existing oral contraception.

The reports tell me that the FDA in regards to their duty under the Declaration of Independence to protect the right to life and health of all human beings should pull the patch since there is evidence of serious complications to women and the benefit is small and can be duplicated by the use of safer products. Considering the number of women dying of stokes and the risk of stroke to those using oral and other types of chemical birth control, I hope the FDA has done a number of long term in-depth studies. What I do know is the FDA felt the need to only warn women of the possible consequences of using the patch, an action I consider is insufficient considering the possible outcome.