The issue had come home. The federal government eventually agreed to closed hearings in 5 cities across Canada in 1986. Scores of groups and individuals presented briefs. Some supported approval, but many addressed concerns about the range of the drug's side effects, possible long-term risks to women's health, and documented cases of use of the drug in Canada without adequate informed consent, particularly by women with disabilities in Ontario institutions, immigrant and refugee women, and Aboriginal women, including many teens. While some of the data appear reassuring, other findings remain unclear or inadequately researched.
Many concerns remain.
We do not know the specific reasons for Health Canada's decision to approve the drug. From these experiences, we have learned a good deal about what is known and not known about Depo-Provera, about how scientific research may fail to ask relevant questions, how the global pharmaceutical industry works, the politics of drug approval in Canada and internationally, and about the hard decisions health care providers and clients must make when confronted with complex life situations. If your facts are wrong, you lose credibility with health professionals, researchers and government. If you have been scrupulous in your work, you can often identify critiques others have missed. The Coalition uses independent epidemiologists to help interpret research findings.