Chile's government distributed faulty birth control pills. Now more than 150 people are pregnant.

 

A  group of more than 150 women became pregnant after taking oral contraceptive pills distributed by the government in Chile. These women are preparing to file a class-action lawsuit in the country’s civil courts. They are currently being represented by Corporación Miles which is a Chilean sexual and reproductive rights group. The oral contraceptive pill the women were taking is Anulette DC. Manufactured by Silesia, the pill is a combined oral contraceptive that contains synthetic versions of hormones like estrogen and progesterone. These hormones prevent ovulation and thicken the lining of the cervix to prevent pregnancy.Oral contraceptive pill regimens usually require taking 21 “active” pills for 21 days that contain the synthetic hormones and seven “non-active” or “placebo” pills for 7 days, during which time a person bleeds.
According to a CNN report, 139,160 packs of Anulette pills were recalled on August 24, 2020, after healthcare workers at a rural healthcare clinic complained that they had identified 6 packets of defective pills. The placebo medicines (a blue pill) were found where the active pills (a yellow pill) should have been, and vice versa leading to the mess.