{
  "id": 5039855,
  "title": "Unplanned pregnancies: Nearly 500 women approach lawyers over faulty birth control pills",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/unplanned-pregnancies-nearly-500-women-approach-lawyers-over-faulty",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T06:56:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/lifestyle/health/unplanned-pregnancies-nearly-500-women-approach-lawyers-over-faulty-birth-control-pills/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nearly 500 women have reached out to lawyers over a packaging error in Yaz Plus oral contraceptive pills, which allegedly led to unintended pregnancies between 2023 and 2025. The faulty pills contained 24 placebo tablets and only four active tablets, instead of the intended 24 active tablets followed by four placebo tablets. Demi Buckley, a senior associate at LHL Attorneys, stated that the firm only escalated the issue to legal action after receiving a few calls about the faulty pills in 2024, following an investigation that began in 2024. The recall was announced on 18 November 2024 by Bayer South Africa and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority after the defective batch WEW96J was distributed on 9 and 24 November 2023. Buckley confirmed that the error could have impacted the effectiveness of the batch and that claimants would still need to prove their cases on a balance of probabilities to establish the legal responsibility of Bayer (Pty) Ltd. The law firm is gathering necessary medical and pharmacy records to determine if there is a potential claim from the women who contacted them.",
  "summary": "Due to a packaging mix-up, some Yaz Plus packs left women unprotected and caused unplanned pregnancies.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}