The State - News from July 31, 1986

An out-of-court settlement has been announced in connection with a lawsuit filed by 21 British families who blamed strokes, heart attacks and blood clots on a birth control pill made by a Palo Alto firm. The women contended that during the 1970s Syntex Corp. provided inadequate warnings to British women about possible side effects of the birth control pill, Norinyl, while women in the United States received a 32-page warning about its possible health hazards. The British government did not require warnings about risks of birth control pills at the time. Details of the agreement were not disclosed because of a gag order issued by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge John Flaherty.