Newsletter

Last summer the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) shattered millions of women's illusions about hormone replacement therapy's long-term effects, by revealing that hormones increase women's risk for breast cancer, stroke, blood clots and heart attacks. In March, the WHI shattered any remaining illusions when it announced that hormone therapy's alleged short-term benefits— relief from depression and memory loss, and greater vitality and sexual satisfaction— are largely bunk as well.

Interview byArielle Lutwick

In September 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone, the drug also known as RU486, for medical (non-invasive) early abortion. Mifepristone works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which is needed fora pregnancy to continue. When used in conjunction with another drug, misoprostol, the method is effective for ending unwanted pregnancy between 92 and 98 percent of the time.

What else can women do to prevent heart disease? The Network gets this question often in the aftermath of the Women's Health Initiative, which found conclusively that hormone replacement therapy is not effective in reducing a woman's risk of developing heart disease. We've written this article to share what is currently known about heart disease, and to encourage women to take sensible steps to reduce their own risk of developing the disease.

Number-One Killer: But When?

by Georgana Hanson 

Reproductive rights advocates nationwide were alarmed in October by news reports that President Bush had selected Dr. W. David Hager to head up the Food and Drug Administration's (PDA) Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. Hager is a practicing obstetrician- gynecologist, and sources told Time magazine that in his private practice he does not prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women. He is also the author of a book suggesting that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome seek help by reading the Bible and praying.

Deaths from lupus have risen significantly in the past 20 years, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC review of lupus deaths from 1979-1998 found an increase from 879 in 1979 to 1,406 in 1998. The increase was most prominent—70 percent—for African American women ages 45 to 64. Lupus is most common in women and often most severe in African American women.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 3, 2002

By Cindy Pearson

Estrogen/Progestin Combination HRT Causes Breast Cancer

On July 9, 2002, officials from the National Institutes of Health announced that one form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), Prempro, had been found to cause breast cancer in previously healthy women. These women were volunteer participants in the Women's Health Initiative, the largest and longest ever trial of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and HRT.

Dear Editor: