Lawsuit alleges birth control packaging led to unwanted pregnancies
More than 100 women are suing Qualitest Pharmaceuticals after they say they got pregnant while taking incorrectly packaged birth control pills.
A group of women are suing a major pharmaceutical company for a packaging mistake that they say resulted in more than 100 unwanted pregnancies.
The 113 women are from across 28 states and they're seeking millions in damages. Some of them say the pharmaceutical company should pay the full cost of raising these children into adulthood.
According to the lawsuit, birth control pills made by Qualitest, a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals, were rotated 180 degrees. As a result the women say they were taking placebo sugar pills at the wrong time of the month. This prompted an FDA recall in 2011, but not before more than 100 women say they became pregnant.
"You could be dealing with anywhere from eight days to 14 days of no hormones on board, no ovulation suppression and therefore conception or pregnancy can occur," said ABC News Senior Medical Contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton.
Endo Pharmaceuticals says, in part, the voluntary recall occurred based on an extremely small number of pill packs that were manufactured by an external contract manufacturer. Also, they've only been able to confirm one defective pack was sold to a patient.
Still, some women are asking for the total cost of raising a child through adulthood, including education. The USDA says having a child will cost you about a quarter of a million dollars.
