Victoria Advocate from Victoria, Texas • 7

THE VICTORIA ADVOCATE, Friday, July 29, 1334-7A nianmif acturer faces class-action lawsmiit HOUSTON (AP) A lawyer said Thursday the makers of Norplant downplayed or ignored serious side effects early in the development of the encapsulated birth control device, but -proceeded with the product anyway. "The problems identified in our class-action lawsuit did not develop overnight, they've been developing over a number of years and a lot of these problems were shown in the initial sort of research phase of this product," said Harold Dampier. Dampier is part of a lawyer team that Hied class-action suits in state and federal courts in Beaumont and Houston last week claiming Wyeth Laboratories was grossly negligent in marketing and developing its product. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, a division of American Home Products, manufactures and sells the six ma tens tick-size capsules that are placed in the arm and designed to stay there for about five years. The capsules slowly release a synthetic hormone that prevents pregnancy.

In the petition, Dampier has asked both federal and state district courts to certify the complaints as class-action. That would enable any woman who has used the product to join the suit. In a departure from the recent rash of Norplant suits filed across the country, Dampier claims the product was doomed from the start. "Strict liability means that we believe this product was an inherently dangerous product from the time of its inception, in other words, we believe it poses a danger to women who are currently using this," Dampier said. On Tuesday, attorneys in Dallas filed suits against Norplant manufacturer Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories of New York claiming women who had the contraceptive implants may have opted not to had they known the devices could be hard to remove.

Dampier's plaintiffs claim that inadequate testing and the lack of warnings about the procedure and capsules themselves led to averse reactions or complications. In particular, Dampier and his team claim their clients were not fully informed about how the batch of six tiny silicone capsules could migrate through the body. The capsules are supposed to remain near the underarm, where they are first placed. Migration makes Norplant removal increasingly difficult "The doctor opens the arm and for some reason can't find all of the implants. The implants have migrated somewhere in the patients body," Dampier explained.

The plaintiffs' complaints range from emotional distress to ovarian cysts and severe bleeding to pain in the arms, near where the capsules are placed. One woman, the first to contact Dampier, became pregnant after having the Norplant implanted and gave birth to a brain-damaged child. "We believe that our class-action will show that women are having extreme difficulties not only in the removal process of these Norplant implants, but also in some very serious complications," No damage amount has been specified in the suit. Wyeth-Ayerst had not received formal notification of the lawsuit and declined Thursday to comment on the petition. But in a prepared response to the Dallas suit, the company issued the following response: The company says it has instructed more than 28,000 health-care providers on the insertion and removal of Norplant capsules, which nearly 1 million Americans have used.

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"It's really not what you expect to see from a public servant." Frost, D-Dallas, confirmed his aides avoided the subpoenas, but defended their actions. "Let's just say they weren't around for a couple of days," Frost "They weren't going to help the Republicans make their case. Martin Frost, U.S. representative told the Star-Telegram. "They weren't going to help the Republicans make their case." The redistricting lawsuit, which was heard by a three-judge panel in U.S.

District Court in Houston, was filed by Republicans seeking to overturn the existing political boundaries. The court is expected to issue a ruling soon, possibly this week. Democrats hold a 21-9 majority in the Texas delegation to the House. Republican attorney Paul Hurd, who filed the lawsuit and wanted to question Frost's aides, said they didn't break any laws by dodging his subpoenas. "It's a question of honor and respect for government," Hurd said.

"Mansker is on salary to the House. He's paid by the federal government, and he hides from the judiciary." Mansker, 53, has worked for Frost since 1979 and is considered one of the state's leading experts on redistricting. He was a familiar figure at the Texas Capitol in 1991, when legislators were redrawing political boundaries to reflect population changes in the 1990 Census. Some consider Mansker the chief architect of the final plan, which resulted in Frost's representing portions of Fort Worth, Arlington and Dallas, plus part of Ellis County and all of Navarro County. Hurd also subpoenaed Rep.

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