FDA finally acknowledges what we already knew about Essure

The problems associated with Essure, a permanent, non-surgical, irreversible form of birth control have been written about by many— from local to national outlets, to pro-life and pro-abortion media outlets. And these problems certainly do not paint a pretty picture.

Even if a woman on Essure were to have zero problems, the process as a whole doesn’t sound very pleasant. Essure prevents pregnancy through the insertion of metal coils into a woman’s fallopian tubes, which causes her body to grow tissue through them, thus blocking the fallopian tubes. The egg then can not reach the uterus.

If the idea of the insertion of metal coils “not intended to be removed” doesn’t make you uncomfortable, the side effects will. And we’re not talking about your average side effects….

Angela Desa-Lynch, an administrator for the Essure Problems group, said the women in the group have experienced these problems to the extreme.

“Whatever they’ve put on the label, multiply it by 200,” she said. “They say chronic pain, or they say mild cramping or abdomen pain, but they don’t tell you that it’s debilitating. They don’t tell you that it’s ‘I can’t get out of bed and take care of my kids’ kind of pain.”

Women like Desa-Lynch have come together against Essure, forming groups like Essure Stories (from Erin Brockovich) and Essure Problems.

National Catholic Register reported late last month that the FDA, after receiving thousands of complaints about the product, has updated a list of risks and complications, and will hold a public hearing on September 24. NC Register also mentioned that Essure has caused the deaths of at least five women and five preborn children.

While the statements from such groups against Essure have seen the FDA’s move as “taking some steps in the right direction,” they are still determined to take Essure off of the market. This is understandable considering the kind of pain many of them have experienced.

Also noted by NC Register, pharmaceutical giant Bayer, which has manufactured and distributed Essure since 2014, claims safety is a “top priority,” yet seems to support only those who have not suffered from these medical coils. If Bayer truly cared about safety, it would do more than “welcome… open dialogue” while touting its success in the face of those who have suffered so much.