Let us imagine that there has been a significant side-effect from a contraceptive choice occurs and a patient suffers harm. It is a known but very rare side-effect.
How much legal and ethical responsibility lies with the doctor who prescribes the contraceptive, how much lies with the medical experts advocating this form of contraception as reasonable and safe, and how much lies with the pharmaceutical company who researched this product? Should this contraceptive be withdrawn from use, and if so, why would it be still available and advised for use in other countries around the world?
A reasonable response to this question would include an assessment of the incidence of this particular complication among all users of this contraceptive, the incidence of any other significant complications, and the outcome for the patients of these complications.
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