The contraceptive patch, Ortho Evra, has been blamed by some people in the U.S. for causing serious side effects or even death.

Roger Pierson says that when he tested Ortho Evra, the safety findings were the same as regular birth control pills.  There are many ongoing lawsuits that have been filed by patients who have had serious complications or by the families of women who have died.  One such lawsuit was just filed in California by the family of a 24 year old women who had a blood clot in her lung, which killed her.  Her family claims that the Ortho Evra patch caused it.

Health Canada is reviewing the safety of the patch and will inform the public if there are any additional risks involved from using it.  An update of the safety warnings on the package may be required.  They will be reviewing two reports on the patch, one of which states that the risk of blood clots is doubled compared to oral birth control.  The second report says that the risk is the same as regular oral contraception.  Health Canada is also checking other serious side effects that the study included such as heart attack and stroke.

The women who had serious side effects may have had other conditions that cause them to react adversely to the patch and other hormonal contraceptives.

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