Essure Reality

This video is a perfect example of what over 24,000 women are experiencing because of Bayer’s “permanent” birth control device, Essure. I understand many women have had success with this product however, it is naive of Bayer and the FDA to chalk up these adverse reactions to something else. The only common denominator is Essure. Warning: there are graphic images in this video. But, you know what, this is Essure reality.

This video is a perfect example of what over 24,000 women are experiencing because of Bayer’s “permanent” birth control device, Essure. I understand many women have had success with this product however, it is naive of Bayer and the FDA to chalk up these adverse reactions to something else. The only common denominator is Essure. Warning: there are graphic images in this video. But, you know what, this is Essure reality.

I’ll add my voice to theirs. I have no relatives impacted by Essure. I’m not a woman, either. I am a human being with a voice and a conscience. When I see something like this, and dozens of other videos, when I correspond with women who have lived and are living the Essure reality depicted here, my conscience demands I use my voice.

This is most certainly a women’s issue in that they’re the ones being victimized. Yes, victimized. It would be one thing if Bayer’s response was, “Wait a minute! This isn’t supposed to happen! Let’s put a hold on future implantations and devote some time and money to getting these women well again.” But, it wasn’t.

Some may think I’m the naive one for the above statement. I’ll admit, it was a “best case scenario.” It would be great even if Bayer said, “This only happens in a statistically small percentage of patients. We don’t feel the risk outweighs the reward, but we hear you and we will look into the problem.” But, they didn’t.

Instead, Bayer has vehemently stood by Essure’s safety several times. Each time suggesting that the 24,000 plus women must have other issues that caused their difficulties. In other words, the 2015 version of “It’s all in your head, sweetie.”

I call bullshit.

As I said, this is a women’s issue, but it’s also a men’s issue and a family issue and an economic issue.

Relationships and families have been torn apart by Essure’s side effects. When it fails (and it does about 10% of the time!), the resulting pregnancies are higher risk due to Essure. Premature births, birth defects and still births are quite common.

Women have been forced to stop working due to the suffering caused by Essure. This has a direct impact on their households’ financial status. Add to that the increased cost of multiple doctor visits necessary to manage Essure’s plethora of side effects and some are even being forced into bankruptcy.

This is a human issue. As the image says, “We fight for justice for ourselves, our sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins, children and total strangers.” It’s time to put away “classifiers,” such as gender and join the fight. Bayer has pre-emption status for Essure. This means, until it is eventually revoked, that those damaged by Essure have no legal recourse against Bayer. Period. No product liability suits and not even wrongful death suits for families of the women who died due to Essure.

There’s pending legislation that will strip Bayer of this unfair protection. It’s called the E-Free Act and it was introduced by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Let your representatives know this is an important issue for you, even if this is the first time you’ve heard of it.

Help by educating people. You may know someone who’s considering getting Essure. Tell them about this piece. Show them the video. Search this blog for the many Essure-related posts I’ve written. They deserve to know the risks and believe me, Bayer isn’t telling the truth.

This is a human issue. Ultimately, it affects us all. Join the fight. Please.