What Is Depo-Provera?
p.33
by Judie Brown

Copyright 1994 American Life League

DEPO-PROVERA, a derivativeof progesterone, is a "contraceptive" 
injection. [1] It kills a new human being during the earliest days in 
the womb [2] by making the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) 
inhospitable.

Depo-Provera is injected every three months, but Upjohn, the 
manufacturer, recommends that women not be "pregnant at the time of 
first administration"; Depo-Provera should "be given only during the 
first 5 days postpartum if not breast-feeding; or if breast-feeding, at 
6 weeks postpartum." [3] Depo-Provera not only kills the human being 
whose life has just begun; it's dangerous to babies already in the womb 
when the chemical is injected.

The 1993 Physician's Desk Reference stated: "THE USE OF DEPO-PROVERA 
Sterile Aqueous Suspension (medroxyprogesterone acetate) DURING THE 
FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF PREGNANCY IS NOT RECOMMENDED." It said that 
progestational drugs have been used in the first trimester to try to 
prevent miscarriage, but that the drugs have been ineffective. They 
have, however, caused genital abnormalities in male and female fetuses. 
[4] 

The warning is not in Upjohn's promotional literature.


Is Depo-Provera Safe for Women?

In 1989, after a ten-year legal battle, a woman who had received the 
drug twice in 1974 (before it was approved for "contraceptive" use in 
the U.S.) was awarded $370,000 in damages from Upjohn because of 
excessive bleeding she had experienced after the injections. Her 
physician said the bleeding could be stopped only by hysterectomy, to 
which she submitted. During the trial it was pointed out that up to 25 
percent of women injected twice with Depo-Provera were suffering from 
excessive bleeding. [5] 

In 1990, Claire Parsons, in Issues in Reproductive Genetic Engineering, 
cited complaints from women who had used Depo-Provera: "headaches, 
abdominal discomfort, anxiety and nervousness, adrenal suppression, 
weight gain, hair loss, decreased libido, mood swings, dizziness, 
fatigue, allergic reactions and severe mental depression. Such effects 
cannot be reversed quickly." [6] 

The 1991 MIMS medical reference stated: "The use of Depo Provera for 
contraception is not an approved indication . . . there are unresolved 
questions relating to its safety for this indication." [7] 

FDA Approval

In June 1992 an FDA panel endorsed Depo-Provera for "contraceptive" 
purposes. Sharon Camp of the Population Crisis Committee told the media 
that more than 10,000 women were already using the drug. "Nothing 
legally prevents doctors from prescribing it for unapproved uses," 
reported Newsweek. (Depo-Provera was already legal for treating kidney 

and uterine cancer. [8])

On October 29, 1992, the FDA approved Depo-Provera as a 
"contraceptive." The New York Times said: "The contraceptive, which is 
available in more than 90 countries, has been the focus of a two-decade 
battle for acceptance in the United States because of disagreements 
over its cancer-causing potential and suggestions that it could be used 
coercively." [9]

Concern Over Coercion and Safety

The possibility of women being injected with Depo-Provera against their 
will has caused alarm even outside pro-life circles. The Dallas Morning 
News reported that the National Black Women's Health Project and the 
National Latina Women's Health Organization had condemned the FDA's 
approval of Depo-Provera, fearing that women could be pressured to use 
the drug without receiving full information or giving full consent. 
[10, 11]

In June 1993 Canadian health officials rejected use of Depo-Provera as 
a "contraceptive." "For the use of contraception, which is a long-term 
usage, we still have outstanding questions about safety," stated JoAnne 
Ford. At least in Canada, the health of women is still of some concern 
to those responsible for citizens' welfare. [12]

One day earlier the World Health Organization, long known for its 
pro-abortion posture, had approved Depo-Provera for "contraceptive" 
use.

1. "Depo-Provera," Physicians' Desk Reference, 1993, pp. 2448-2449.

2. "Anti-Progesterones/Progesterones," Beginnings, Vol. IX, No. 1, 
Jan.-Feb. 1993, pp. 3-4.

3. "Announcing a New Contraceptive Option for Women," Upjohn insert, 
Ob.Gyn. News, Mar. 15, 1993.

4. "Physicians' Desk Reference.

5. "Mary Hladky, "Drug Maker Liable for Side Effects," Broward Review, 
Jan. 12, 1989, pp. 1, 4.

6. "Claire Parsons, "Drugs, Science, and Ethics: Lessons From the 
Depo-Provera Story," Issues in Reproductive and Genetic Engineering, 
Vol. 3, No. 2, 1990, pp. 101-110.

7. "Brian Harradine, "Controversial Drug to Be Used on Papua New Guinea 
Women," May 14, 1991, media release; MIMS excerpt.

8. "A New Birth Control Option?" Newsweek, June 29, 1992, p. 70.

9. "U.S. Approves Injectable Drug as Birth Control," New York Times, 
Oct. 30, 1992, p. A1.

10.   "Birth-Control Shot's Sale Doesn't End Controversy," Dallas 
Morning News, Jan. 4/93, pp. 1C, 4C.

11.   "Depo-Provera: A Report by the Campaign Against Depo-Provera," 
Black Rose, 1979; Rep. Robert Dornan, "Statement Before the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs," May 7, 1981; Carol Levine, "Depo-Provera and 

Contraceptive Risk: A Case Study of Values in Conflict," Hastings 
Center Report, May 1979, pp. 1-4; Stephen Minkin, "Depo-Provera: A 
Critical Analysis," Institute for Food and Development Policy, 1979.

12.   "Canada Denies Approval of Depo-Provera as Contraceptive," 
Executive News Service, June 2, 1993; "UN Contraception," AP, Jun. 1, 
1993.

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