If the public wonders why the womem keep fighting
hugh corporations and why the fight has been so
very hard...you can find out some of those reasons
here...Dow has paid
millions of dollars to sway Science and the
public...
The following information has been obtained
from Public Interest Reporting and public
records.
Dow's and Burson-Marsteller's plans started
several years ago in the early
1990's.
The PR story really began in 1985 when the PR firm
learned about the
Maria Stern verdict,when a federal grand jury
awarded Maria $1.7 for "defectively designed and
manufactured" breast implants.Dow was found guilty
of fraud,based on internal documents and their own
studies proving that they (DOW) had failed to inform
the public of the health risks related to implants.
Burson-Marsteller wrote a paper titled "Silicone
Medical Implants as a Public Issue" The PR firm
predicted that a "combination of human
suffering,large financial awards,...represent a
potentially volatile media situation for the
company.
Dow was able to negotiate a settlement in return for
a "protective order" blocking public access to
things which emgerged during the trial in the Stern
case.In following cases they were able to obtain
"secrecy orders" to prevent the public from
obtaining this damaging information.
As the crisis grew so did the company's PR campaign.
In only a couple of years Dow had paid
Burson-Marsteller close to $4,0000,000,
In the meantime some of those document that were
"protected" had reached the public" some of the
statements that have been documented made by Dow and
Burson-Marsteller have stated:
"Our job has become damage control of language that
compares breast implants to the "Pinto gas Tank" and
a MULTITUDE of other comments in memos which are ...
Burson-Marsteller advised Dow:
"We must aggressively fight a world in which
"silicone-free" becomes a labeling boast."
One of the statement which was made by Dow CEO in
which he stated:
He went on to state
"The number one
issue in my mind is the
"establishment" of networks.This is the largest
single issue on our platter because it affects not
only the next 2 or 3 years of profitability..
I have started "surgeon contact" to organize the
plastic surgery community.....The place we have the
biggest hole is still missing .is in the whole arena
of getting the "patient" grassroots movement
going. "These women (including
celebrities) will be trained and testimony will be
written for them to deliver before ~ Congressional
committees. Johnna Mattews a Dow employee wrote to BM
subsidiary Gold & Liebengood. "I was not going to
put this in writing,but wanted you to know
"With the FDA's penchant for walking into ad
agencies and demanding to look at documents,I hope
you'll give this a toss once you've read it."
Mattews outlined a strategy for "getting women angry
about having the right to make their own decision
about breast implants being taken away from them..We
want to place regional,and if possible, national
media stories on the need for keeping this option
open to women." Some of the documented plans were:
Burson-Marstellr turned to the American Society of
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons for help in
identifying patients who could be recruited as
spokespeople.For similar reasons they recommended
cancer specialists should be recruited as
"spokesdoctors' to defend the company in the top 15
media markets in the US....because "an oncologist
obviously has more credibility than a plastic
surgeon.
In Nov of 1991....Dow Corning flew in 1000 women to
Washington to rally in favor of implants...Dow
Corning footed the total bill plus several days of
training and rehearsals prior to the actual
testimony
before Congress. Burson-Marsteller documents suggest that
financial incentives helped Dow grease the skids
with cancer support groups such as
Y-ME These are some of the examples of how
Dow brought and paid for many of the issues facing
implanted women today. There are papers prepared by former
U.S.Attorney General Griffin
Bell under President Carter,as an independent
review of the company.(Bell was hired by Dow)
Bell prepared a report based on his
investigation,along with a three page letter of
recommendations for changes in company policy.
That was in 1992,as late as August of 1998 ..Judge
Sam Pointer still refused to unseal the Griffin Bell
papers...there are about 40 "HOT" pages that will
never see the light of day but if revealed would
show much to the world of Corporations who were
allowed to cause the death of women..knew
it....covered it up... yet are protected by the
courts of the United States.....
Someday maybe there will be an honest
Senator...Representive...or judge who will say
enough...these corporations lied to Congress and
have lied to the American Public. Do we the women expect that kind of honor from
anyone....the answer is no!!!.There is very little
honor left among our lawmakers in this country.
Y-ME and National Alliance of Breast Cancer
Organizations were given the assignment to generate
175,000,00 letters to Congress.
One of the main reasons women have kept
fighting is because there are internal documents,
that
more that likely saw the light of day for one or two
trials...and then were sealed.
These papers could
bring justice for the women and at the very lest
reveal what was already known by Dow ,so that
perhaps science could find the answer for a medical
treatment for so many very sick women.
Citing attorney-client
privilege,Dow refused to release the documents for
public review,or even to release Bell's full report.
