Summary
Breast implants
A 'strange alliance' of feminists, lawyers, reporters and FDA bureaucrats exploited the dilemma of women with breast implants to campaign for the ban on silicone breast implants. Their success is an example of medical public policy gone awry which threatens the health of 'Americans who will need insertable medical devices' in the future.See the full content of this document
Extract
A confederacy of boobs.
How special interests, assorted ideologues, and a sensationalist press torpedoed breast implants - and now threaten other medical devices
"Not only are they abusing the judicial system, but they are emotionally abusing the women." That's what one silicone breast implant recipient told the Boston Herald following the decision of Dow Corning to file for bankruptcy. Dow Corning had contributed about half of a $4.2 billion settlement - the biggest ever - for women claiming to suffer various illnesses from their implants. Earlier this year, however, it became clear that there were far more women trying to get a piece of the pie than there were slices. Plaintiffs' attorneys were saying that $74 billion might be needed to satisfy just the first set of claims against the companies. Rather than close its doors forever, Dow Corning chose to try to limit its losses. Financially, it's unclear where the bankruptcy leaves implant claimants. But what has become more and more certain since the settlement was reached back in 1993 is that while both the judicial system and silicone implant recipients have been terribly abused, the villain isn't Dow Corning or any other implant maker. Indeed, women with breast implants have been nothing more than pawns in a bizarre game involving lawyers, feminists, headline hounds, and super-inflated bureaucratic egos. The stakes, however, go beyond the physical and mental health of women with implants to include the future health of millions of Americans who will need insertable medical devices. Indeed, the multimillion-dollar awards against silicone implant manufacturers have already triggered a wave of suits against medical implants made of solid silicone a...See the full content of this document
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