A 37-year-old woman from Dundee is taking legal action against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer after developing a brain tumour she attributes to the contraceptive injection Depo-Provera. Kirsty Moore began using the jab at age 16 and continued for over 20 years, only stopping earlier this year after learning of its potential link to meningiomas.
Moore was diagnosed with a non-cancerous meningioma in 2021 following symptoms including headaches and a bulging right eye. Despite four operations to remove the tumour, which grows on an optic nerve, it has continued to regrow. She is now undergoing a six-week course of radiotherapy to try to shrink the mass.
Moore told the Daily Record: 'This tumour has dramatically changed my life. I've had to undergo four operations - including one emergency surgery - to try and remove it. Each operation has been extremely invasive and recovery has been hard. I'm now undergoing radiotherapy every day for six weeks to try to shrink it. It has left me exhausted, depleted and unable to work.'
A 2024 study in the British Medical Journal found that prolonged use of Depo-Provera increases the risk of developing meningiomas fivefold. Moore claims she was never warned of this risk during 21 years of use. She said: 'At no point throughout the 21 years of taking Depo Provera was I ever warned that it could cause a brain tumour. Women should have been warned of the side effects.'
Moore is one of several Scottish women pursuing legal claims with Thompsons Scotland. Others include Tammy Croston, who lost vision in one eye after surgery, and Trish Saunders, left with facial numbness. Around 2,500 women are suing Pfizer in the US over similar claims. Patrick McGuire, senior partner at Thompsons, said: 'It is heartbreaking to see the awful consequences for Kirsty's health caused by Depo Provera.'
