Dina Kok
The Interim
Depo-Provera, an injectable method of birth control, has recently received a health warning from Health Canada.
According to recent studies, women who use the progesterone injection for more than two years have a significant risk of bone-density loss that can be irreversible. The warning follows the findings of two clinical trials of 12 to 18 year olds and 25 to 35 year olds.
Eight years ago, in 1997 when the drug was first marketed in Canada officially as a birth control method, many health groups and pro-life organizations fought its release. Toronto Right to Life, in statements made at the time to The Interim, classified the progesterone injection as an abortifacient that “changes the lining of the uterus,” thereby preventing implantation of a fertilized egg.
Despite health risk warnings and deaths associated with various birth control methods, and the countless forms of birth control already on the market, it seems Canada has not had enough. Earlier this year, the latest form of birth control was introduced onto the Canadian market – the NuvaRing, a once-a-month vaginal ring.
As described and advertised by Dose, a daily Toronto commuter paper, the NuvaRing “could be the best ring (a lady) has ever owned.” It is described as a “small, transparent, flexible plastic ring that’s inserted like a tampon, then left inside.” Once there, the ring delivers a slow, steady low dose of estrogen and progestin throughout the next 21 days.
Gynecologist Dr. Nancy Duran, in comments made to Dose, stated, “Side-effects with NuvaRing are the same as you would get from oral contraceptives. But the incidents are much lower because the dose of estrogen is half the dose of regular birth control pills.”
However, according to Jakki Jeffs, executive director of Alliance for Life Ontario, it is not the estrogen that we should be concerned about, but the progestin. “NuvaRing actually admits that the progestin they use has a greater risk of forming blood clots than with other forms of progestin, even with the lower dose.”
In addition to the higher risk of blood clots and side-effects, this latest form of birth control acts as an abortifacient. “Almost as an aside, NuvaRing states that the hormones cause changes in the endometrium, which reduces the likelihood of implantation. This vaginal ring is an abortifacient, and women do not even know,” said Jeffs.
