ついでにヤーズ・フレックスの情報も発見！
フランスは2013年に15歳以上18歳未満を対象に避妊（ピル、IUD）を無料にした。昨年8月からは15歳未満についても無料になっていた。このたび、2022年から25歳未満についても、すべて無料にすることにした。
ただし、いちいち「償還」手続きを取らなければならないようで、いったんは自費で払う必要があることと、政府の広報が不十分であることが問題視されている。
避妊を無料化した理由は「貧困層の若い女性たちの中絶率が著しく高いため」。調査結果より、若い女性のリプロダクティブ・ヘルス＆ライツを守る必要があると判断したようだ。12～15歳までの妊娠した少女の大半が中絶に至っていることが統計的に明らかにされたためだという。
とはいえフランスではほとんどの保険が中絶についても「償還」しているため、実質は無料。つまり、お金の問題ではなく、若い女性が中絶に至ることはリプロダクティブ・ヘルスのためによくないと考えられているわけだ。
これは、最近のテキサス州やポーランドとは真逆の発想だし、日本のようにデータも何もないのに、国民の「胎児の生命尊重」の意識を尊重するなどという勝手な思い込みで政策が続けられているのとも全く異なる。
閑話休題。
一方、あちこちでフランスの避妊の記事を追いかけていたら、こんな記述が出てきた。
Though still popular, oral contraception use has fallen in recent years following media coverage in 2012 about a young woman who suffered a stroke that she blamed on a version of the pill. The risk of blood clots as a side effect from the newer pill was comparatively low: about 9 to 12 in 10,000 compared with 5 to 7 in 10,000 for an earlier version. Still, health insurers stopped reimbursing people for the higher-risk pill and analysts said in the years after some women turned to other birth control methods.
France to Offer Free Contraception for Women Up to 25 - The New York Times
ここにあるthe newer pillとは、一時期私が調べていた"Yaz Flex”のことだと思う。商品名が出ていなかったので、この記事は見落としていた。どうやらフランスでは2012年にスキャンダルになったようだ。
検索で以下のようなページも出てきた。今まで見つけたものより、かなり具体的だ。
Yaz Lawsuits
Women who suffered side effects after taking Yaz and Yasmin have filed thousands of lawsuits against Bayer AG. More than 19,000 lawsuits have been resolved so far, according to court records. Lawsuits allege the pills caused blood clots, gallbladder problems, heart attacks and strokes. Federal multidistrict litigation closed in January 2019.
Thousands of women who suffered injuries or side effects from the active ingredients drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol in Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills have filed suit.
The pills’ manufacturer, Bayer AG, denies any wrongdoing, telling ABC News in a statement that the drugs are as safe as other birth control pills when used correctly.
Those who alleged they were harmed by Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills and plaintiffs claiming that their loved ones died as a result of using the pills, assert that Bayer intentionally concealed knowledge of risks and misled the public about supposed benefits of the medications.
Several independent studies that surfaced in 2011 called into question the safety of birth control pills made with the synthetic estrogen drospirenone, an active ingredient in Yaz and Yasmin.
FACT
Over 19,000 Yaz claims were resolved through multidistrict litigation in United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Source: Southern District Court of Illinois
The Food and Drug Administration confirmed in 2012 that drospirenone may increase a person’s risk of blood clots by as much as three times the risk of progestins such as levonorgestrel, which is used in older oral contraceptives.Since the consolidated MDL in Illinois began in October 2009, more than 19,000 Yaz and Yasmin cases have been resolved, according to Judge David R. Herndon in his Order Recommending Termination of Multidistrict Litigation dated Dec. 18, 2018.
Bayer and litigation plaintiffs reached settlement agreements for cases involving blood clots, complications resulting from blood clots and gallbladder problems. The Plaintiff’s Steering Committee — a committee formed by plaintiffs’ attorneys to move litigation along — disbanded on Nov. 20, 2018.
With only a couple of cases awaiting final resolution, MDL No. 2100 “Yasmin and Yaz (drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation” closed on Jan. 2, 2019.
Yaz Lawsuit Claims
Many users of Yaz and Yasmin say they’ve suffered from heart, gallbladder and blood disorders. Thousands of injuries and more than 100 deaths are connected to the drugs’ severe side effects.The FDA says the following problems have been linked to use of the drugs:
Heart arrhythmias
Electrolyte imbalance
Stroke
Gallbladder problems
Blood clots
Embolisms
Sudden death
In their lawsuits, people claim that Bayer knew or should have known of the alleged risks and, therefore, should be held liable for failing to disclose the risks and not adequately warning users.People say Bayer marketed Yaz in a way that played up the benefits and downplayed serious dangers. They also accuse Bayer of not doing enough research and failing to issue a recall after reports showed evidence of risks.
The lawsuits allege the following claims against Bayer:
- Negligence
- Strict product liability
- Breach of express and implied warranties
- Fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation
- Fraudulent concealment
- Medical monitoring
- Fraud and deceit
- Violation of consumer protection statutes
Stories of Women Who Filed Lawsuits
Women who filed lawsuits against Bayer claim Yaz or Yasmin caused or was a contributing cause of health problems including gallbladder injuries, blood clots, stroke, kidney injuries and kidney failure.
Maggie Yunker of Illinois
Maggie Yunker of Illinois suffered a life-altering stroke at age 20 after switching to Yaz from a different form of birth control pill, according to her lawsuit. Yunker had been taking birth control pills for about a year when her doctor suggested the switch.
Promised that Yaz could clear up her acne and relieve period symptoms, Yunker began taking the new birth control pill and later developed multiple blood clots that broke free and traveled to her brain. Once in the brain, the clots cut off blood flow and caused a stroke, according to her lawsuit. Bayer settled Yunker’s claim for $237,000.
In 2013, Yunker told the Chicago Tribune, “I didn’t think anything bad could happen, especially since a doctor was giving it to me… Any medicine has risk factors, but when you’re 20 you don’t think about it.”
Roughly 20,000 women were injured or died after taking Yaz, resulting in lawsuits similar to Yunker’s.
Carissa Ubersox of Wisconsin
In 2007, Carissa Ubersox was 24 and a new college graduate. She had just started working in her new role as a pediatric nurse when her boyfriend surprised her with a marriage proposal on Christmas Day.
Ubersox wanted to “look and feel her best for her wedding day,” so she switched her birth control to Yaz. A commercial made it sound “like a miracle drug,” she later told ABC News.
But in February 2008, just three months after she began taking Yaz, Ubersox said her legs began to ache, which she shrugged off as being a side effect of standing on her feet for 12-hour nursing shifts.
But soon, Ubersox found herself gasping for air. Blood clots in her legs had traveled through her bloodstream to her lungs, resulting in a double pulmonary embolism that nearly took her life. Her fiancé called 911 and on the way to the hospital, her heart stopped. Revived by emergency doctors, she remained in a coma for almost two weeks.
When Ubersox awoke, she was blind. Ubersox sued Bayer after losing her eyesight, her career and her fiancé, as reported by ABC News, alleging “Yaz [was] to blame.”
