Many doctors have stopped prescribing the Ortho Evra patch to their patients in an effort to protect them from deadly birth control patch side effects. On November 8, 2005, the Food and Drug Administration announced that using the Ortho Evra patch increases a woman’s risk of birth control patch injuries, such as blood clots, heart attack or stroke.

An investigation by the Associated Press earlier this year uncovered several birth control patch deaths linked to Ortho Evra. Women as young as 14 have suffered deadly birth control patch side effects brought on by using Ortho Evra. The Ortho Evra patch releases 60% more estrogen into the bloodstream than traditional birth control pills; because estrogen increases a woman’s risk for birth control patch side effects and injuries.

Despite the increased health risks associated with the Ortho Evra patch, neither to FDA or Ortho-McNeil, its manufacturer, have issued an Ortho Evra recall. As a result, many doctors have taken it upon themselves to protect their patients from the birth control patch injuries linked to Ortho Evra by refusing to prescribe it. They say that the benefits of the once-weekly patch are outweighed by the birth control patch health risks associated with Ortho Evra.

There have been hundreds of injuries and more than a dozen birth control patch deaths linked with the Ortho Evra patch. Many women have filed Ortho Evra lawsuits against Ortho-McNeil and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, claiming that they should have warned women about the risk of birth control patch side effects with Ortho Evra. Although there has been no Ortho Evra recall so far, the FDA and Ortho-McNeil are currently reviewing reports of birth control patch injuries associated with Ortho Evra to better understand its risk to users.