Before becoming LegalReader's Editor-in-Chief, Jay W. Belle Isle worked as a freelance copywriter with clients on four continents. Jay has a degree in Business Administration from Cleary University and a Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Jay has also worked as a contracts administrator for a DOD contractor specializing in vehicle armor.


Essure User Still Got Pregnant

Thank you to the Chicago Tribune for today’s video. Meet Ellen Hanrahan and her daughter, Leena. Despite Bayer’s promises of near 100% efficacy, Ellen, an Essure user, still got pregnant. Various studies show Essure’s failure rate as closer to 10%, roughly 15 times that of tubal ligation.


Faces of E-Free: Kathryn Fredrickson — Maryland

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) spoke to the House on December 10. He presented Kathryn Fredrickson’s Essure story as part of his Faces of E-Free series, designed to inform his colleagues on the importance of passing H.R. 3920, the E-Free Act. Passage of this bipartisan legislation would make the FDA remove Bayer’s “permanent” sterilization device, Essure, from the market. It would also strip the product of its pre-market approval, thus allowing the women harmed by Essure to pursue legal action.


Essure Side Effects

Today’s video comes courtesy of director Melanie Goshgarian and the Essure Problems Facebook group. Bayer’s “permanent” birth control device, Essure, is quite the nasty little thing. Coils containing nickel and plastics are inserted into the fallopian tubes to cause permanent sterilization. It only works about 90% of the time, but it does leave some awfully permanent damage. Essure side effects are debilitating and even deadly.


Faces of E-Free: Lisa Conti — Pennsylvania

Once again, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) took the House floor to tell the story of a woman injured by Bayer’s “permanent” birth control product, Essure. Lisa Conti’s story is the latest in Rep. Fitzpatrick’s “Faces of E-Free” series.


NHTSA Recall Completion Rates in the Takata Crisis

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made the naughty list this year. In Washington, DC that is; the North Pole has yet to issue a comment. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) certainly commented about NHTSA’s recall completion rates in the Takata airbag crisis, though. The Senators’ statement follows.


OnStar Unhelpful to Non-Subscribers in Emergencies?

A potentially sad holiday story had a happy ending. According to 12WHAM in Rochester, New York, 89-year old Anthony DePinto left home on December 17 and got lost. Anthony has dementia. He didn’t have a cell phone but thought that OnStar would be willing to help him and pressed the button. They weren’t, though. OnStar unhelpful to non-subscribers in emergencies?


Bayer Admits Essure Causes Autoimmune Disorders

This video post comes courtesy of an awesome E-Sister, @shinyangie on Twitter. It’s great coverage of the Essure issue in general, but the real news comes toward the end of the video. In response to a direct question from the reporter, Dr. Edio Zampaglione from Bayer admits Essure causes autoimmune disorders.


Removing Asbestos Can Be Deadly Duty

Yesterday, I wrote a piece on the 3rd wave of asbestos disease in America. Today, I want to look at another piece of that problem. People like Kris Penny are exposed to asbestos through working in environments that contain it. There is another segment of the population that will soon be a part of the 3rd wave and they are asbestos remediation workers. Removing asbestos can be deadly duty.


U.S.’ 3rd Wave of Asbestos Disease

When we hear the words “asbestos” and “mesothelioma,” we automatically think of victims in their 60s, 70s or 80s. Individuals who worked as miners, millers & manufacturers or insulators and shipbuilders in a time before safety measures were in place are the usual mesothelioma patients. Meet Kris Penny, the face of the U.S.’ third wave of asbestos disease.


Essure Renegades

One of the Merriam-Webster online dictionary’s definitions of “renegade” is: “Someone or something that causes trouble and cannot be controlled.” Welcome to the world of Essure renegades, those who are tired of suffering and lies. Those who tell the truth and will not be silenced. The new thorns in the side of a business that puts profits over patients.