Women sue over pill 'side-effects'

A test case involving more than 100 women who claim that they have been damaged by the contraceptive pill was being heard at the High Court in London today.

Involving the so–called third–generation pill, the action – to be heard by Mr Justice Mackay – is due to last five months.

Much of the time will be taken up by conflicting expert evidence for the women and three manufacturers – Organon Laboratories, Schering Healthcare and Wyeth.

The claims are all brought on behalf of women suffering from ill–effects from blood clots, which have led in seven cases to death and in others to severe disablement.

Their case under the Consumer Protection Act is that the product is "unsafe" and that companies should have conducted further research after the pills were first introduced in the early 1980s.

Had they done so, it is claimed, advice to prescribers, which was eventually issued in 1995 at the insistence of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, to only issue the new pills as a second resort might have deterred unnecessary use.

Solicitor Martyn Day, whose firm is representing many of the women, said that they had all suffered "terrible effects".

"We now know that these third generation pills double the risk of women developing dangerous blood clots".

The manufacturers argue that the third–generation pill is safe and that the action is unfounded.