Statement From Women's Integrated Healthcare Regarding Lawsuit Filed By Attorney General's Office Over Use of Bayer's Mirena IUD

GRAPEVINE, Texas, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- We are disappointed to hear about the lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General in regard to the use of Bayer's Mirena IUD.  We have been cooperating with authorities and long ago ceased to import Mirena IUDs from Canada.  

We want all Women's Integrated Healthcare patients to know that the Mirena IUD, including those imported from Canada, is perfectly safe according to all current medical literature. Bayer has never claimed that its Mirena IUDs available in Canada are unsafe.

All Mirena IUDs are manufactured in a single plant in Finland by Bayer. Mirena IUDs imported from Canada are identical to Mirena IUDs sold through the American pharmaceutical distribution system.  The Attorney General's complaint against the Mirena IUDs imported from Canada appears to be the box it comes in, not the IUD itself.

Prior to deciding to import the Mirena IUD from Canada, Women's Integrated Healthcare consulted with legal counsel and were assured that this would be legal and in compliance with all Texas and United States laws and regulations governing the practice of medicine.  

Ultimately our concern was for our patients. The number of Women's Integrated Healthcare patients without health insurance has increased significantly. Uninsured patients, and those with high deductibles, could no longer afford this product under the United States pricing structure.  This resulted in a greater number of patients we could not help with birth control decisions.

Bayer has only one factory where it manufactures the Mirena IUD and the Mirena IUD is manufactured under one set of guidelines for the entire world.  The only difference we have found between an IUD purchased from Canada and one purchased in the United States is that the box from Canada may have instructions for the physician in a language other than in English.  

Physician instructions for the Mirena are, however, kept current on Bayer's website for physicians worldwide, in every language.  We have always provided our patients with the most current information on the Mirena, often directly from the website, regardless of where the IUD came from.

Women's Integrated Healthcare will, of course, comply with the law.  If we were given incorrect legal advice, we will have to live with that.  The real losers here are the uninsured women who can no longer afford this contraceptive device.

SOURCE Women’s Integrated Healthcare