Essure, manufactured by Bayer HealthCare, is the only non-surgical permanent form of birth control for women in the UK.
Made of a metal coil and plastic PET fibres, the device is known to slice through the uterus and fallopian tubes, migrate into the pelvis or abdomen, and cause allergic and autoimmune reaction to the materials, maiming thousands of women.
[1] More than 750,000 Essure birth control devices have been sold worldwide since it was introduced in 2002, according to Bayer.
The product, long presented as a less invasive alternative to surgical sterilization, is no longer sold outside the U.S. for “commercial reasons,” company spokeswoman Courtney Mallon said in an email. She said that decision was not related to product safety.
But despite 30,000 patients reporting problems about Essure to the FDA, the pharmaceutical company is staunchly defending itself against allegations that it intentionally misled women and actively concealed negative reports about the device from the FDA.
Public health advocates have long been troubled by what they see as a lack of solid data on Essure’s safety and effectiveness. [2]
“Thousands of women have reported serious complications from Essure, and there has been no unbiased long-term research to refute or confirm those reports,” said Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, who has been a paid expert witness in one of the cases involving Essure plaintiffs against Bayer.
“Both the F.D.A. and the company are responsible for a situation where women could not make informed decisions.”
If you or a loved one were fitted with an Essure birth control implant, contact us through the website.
