As you know, there are a number of different birth-control options these days; condoms, IUDs, the pill, and wearing Crocs to name a few. And given that we are in the age of the vaccine, there of course is the option for a birth control shot.
The birth control shot works by releasing progestin into a woman’s body, preventing pregnancy by keeping eggs from leaving the ovaries while also thickening cervical mucus to act as a protective moat between the sperm and the eggs.
Bet you didn’t think you’d read the term “cervical mucus” today, did you…
Anyway, the shot protects against pregnancy for 12 weeks at a time and much like the pill, the odds of getting pregnant while using the shot as directed are below 1%. However, if directions are not followed, the odds of getting pregnant increase dramatically.
For instance, one way to administer the shot improperly would be to accidentally swap it with a flu vaccine that has no way of providing birth control unless the child is a flu.
Yup, that happened to Yesenia Pacheco a few years ago at a Neighborcare clinic in Seattle.
Now she has a 3-year-old daughter with a brain malformation that causes seizures and impairs both her speech and motor skills.
Pacheco, who already had two children, is now suing the Federal Government (who funds the clinic) to cover the cost of care for her daughter.
“The idea is that this young family already had two children,” her lawyer told the Huffington Post, “…They were [already] having difficulty just keeping food on the table for their two young children… If she knew they were not going to fulfill their promise, she could have done something else for birth control… We’re not saying she doesn’t love her baby, but the child needs additional services that the family is ill-equipped to handle.”
In terms of how this happened, the clinic openly admits to a “miscommunication” that occurred during one of her regular inoculation visits. You know, one of those miscommunications that results in the administration of a shot for preventing influenza, but not the unintended reproduction of human life.
Classic broken telephone!
We’re no crack team of lawyers here at Notable, but it sounds like she might have a pretty strong case.
So for those of you going with birth control shots, it doesn’t hurt to double-check every time; you might get the sniffles, but at least when you do, you won’t have to worry about giving them to your Kinder Egg baby.
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