Bombshell contraceptive find sparks legal bid

Melbourne: There’s some serious buzz going on about a contraceptive injection called Depo-Provera. Australian lawyers are diving into whether it’s linked to brain tumours. A recent study in the British Medical Journal raised eyebrows, showing that women using this contraceptive for over a year might have a five to six times higher chance of developing a specific brain tumour.

Now, a class action has been kicked off against Pfizer in the US, and Shine Lawyers in Australia is urging women who’ve used Depo-Provera to join in. It’s a big deal since over 20,000 Aussie women rely on this contraceptive.

Shine Lawyers is saying, “If you’ve been injected with Depo-Provera, you can express your interest in the class action investigation.” Meanwhile, Pfizer is standing firm, stating they’ll defend any lawsuits. They’ve been saying that Depo-Provera has been FDA-approved for over 30 years and has been safe for millions of users.

Experts in cancer research are trying to ease fears, saying the risk is still very small. The study looked at over 108,000 women in France, including those who had surgery for this type of tumour. The tumours linked to the contraceptive are non-cancerous, but they can cause issues like memory loss and seizures, which might need surgery to fix.

Interestingly, this French study is backed by other research from Indonesia and the US. With more than 24,000 women in Australia using Depo-Provera since it became available in 1972, it’s clear this news is hitting home for many.

Right after the study came out, Pfizer acknowledged the potential risk and mentioned they’re working on updating product labels and patient info to reflect this new information.