0 FDA approves new birth control shot Drug prventpregnancyforthree months The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 30, 1992 - Page 3 Group tries to 7 raise awareness about rainforest WASHINGTON (AP) - The government yesterday gave women the option of using an injectable drug, Depo Provera, that provides birth control for three months but also may cause weight gain and menstrual irregularities. "This drug presents another long- term effective option for women to prevent pregnancy," said Food and Drug Commissioner David Kessler in a written statement. "As an in- jectable, given once every three months, Depo Provera eliminates problems related to missing a daily dose." About a quarter of the women of childbearing age in the United States use the birth control pill, which must be taken every day. The Food and Drug Admin- istration' s decision followed the advice of an outside panel of sci- entists who recommended unani- mously last June that the drug be al- lowed for use as a contraceptive. However, the FDA pointed out that the drug, manufactured by 1 Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Upjohn Co., has possible side effects, includ- ing weight gain and menstrual irreg- ularities. It also can leave women tired, weak, dizzy and nervous and can cause headaches and abdominal pain. The FDA's Fertility and Maternal Health Drugs Advisory Committee heard a day of testimony on the drug's side effects before voting that its potential benefits outweighed the risks. The panel considered whether the drug is scientifically linked, to breast, liver or cervical cancer. In 1973, FDA had announced its intention to approve the drug as a contraceptive, but protests from con- sumer and women's groups during congressional hearings prompted the agency to withhold the approval. FDA again denied approval for this use in 1978, largely because animal studies suggested a link to cancers of the cervix, liver and breast. More re- cent studies, though, have indicated the link may not be so strong as pre- viously believed. The drug already is used as a con- traceptive in 90 countries, including Britain, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Belgium, Sweden and France. Upjohn has not set the cost of the drug, but it will be comparable to the cost of birth control pills, said com- pany spokesperson Florence Steinberg. Dr. Michael Policar, vice presi- dent of medical affairs of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, estimated that the drug would cost about $25 per injection. "We've been wanting to use Depo Provera in Planned Parenthood affiliates for years." Until yesterday, the drug was ap- proved for use in the United States only to treat endometrial and renal cancers. As a birth control agent, it inhibits the production of the hor- mone gonadotropin, preventing ovulation. Although the drug already is available for cancer treatment, the birth control version is a different formulation. The company plans a formal launch of that version in the United States in January. Depo Provera is given in a 150 mg dose injected into an arm muscle or buttock every three months. The FDA said it is more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy. Upjohn has said it has found that most women who take the drug gain weight - usually no more than 15 pounds, although the gain increases over time. If a woman decides to get preg- nant, she can discontinue the injections. The FDA also said recent studies have found that long-term use may contributedto osteoporosis,a bone disorder found chiefly in women who have passed menopause. The 'We've been wanting to use Depo Provera in Planned Parenthood affiliates for years. . - Dr. Michael Policar agency warned doctors to make sure a patient is not already pregnant be- fore giving her the drug and that it should not be used by women who have liver disease, breast cancer, un- explained vaginal bleeding or blood clots. Depo Provera, known generically as depot-medroxyprogesterone ac- etate, or DMPA, also has been the subject of legal controversy because it could be used for so-called "chemical castration" sentences that judges have considered imposing on male sex offenders. by Gwen Shaffer Daily Environment Reporter The Rainforest Action Movement (RAM) treated students walking through the Diag yesterday to some live entertainment - with a political slant. Members performed a skit por- traying World Bank officials decid- ing to dump toxic wastes in a rain- forest, displacing the indigenous people and satisfying American business leaders. David Saloman, a former U-M student and RAM member, said he organized the play because he wanted to raise awareness about the "inter-connectedness" between the United States and one of the world's most vital resources. "I didn't really write the play be- cause these things are happening ev- eryday," Saloman said. RAM is a student organization that raises funds to empower native people. The organization fights for the basic human rights of people to use their own land, Saloman said. "American oil companies in the Amazon forest drilling for oil have already produced more waste than the Exxon Valdez spill," Saloman said. "For the people who live there, their resources are gone." Saloman said the oil found in the Amazon is not imperative to meeting energy needs in the United States. "It is minimal if we had energy re- forms here," he said. Recent rulings by a panel for the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) were a major focus of the skit. "(GATT) will give multinational corporations the right to do whatever they want - at will and without fear of new competition - anywhere in the world," Saloman said. "When rainforests go, we are go- ing to go with them," he added. Some actors in the skit said they believe the RAM demonstration served to raise awareness of rainfor- est issues. "Everyone who walks by learns something," said Stephanie Schantz, an LSA junior and RAM member. "I think we motivate people just by be- ing visible." Phil Daman, a first-year Kinesiology student who watched the skit, said he thought it was effective. "Anything you see on the Diag stimulates you to think differently," he said. 4 MOLLY STEVEN; Chad Spitler, a senior in the School of Natural Resources and Environment and LSA senior Gita Nandan play the part of peoples of Third World nations, sitting on the nuclear waste of "developed" countries. Spitler and Nandan were acting in a play put on by the Rainforest Action Movement. CIA knew about U.S. exports to Iraqi defense industries WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA knew before the Gulf War that at least five recipients of U.S. ex- ports to Iraq were defense industries, but it did not tell the Commerce Department, which approved the sales, documents show. The Commerce Department ap- proved some $1.5 billion in exports to Iraq from 1985 to 1990, saying most were not designated for mili- tary use. Information revealed yesterday on both sides of the Atlantic indi- cated that the CIA had infonnation about Iraqi defense industry pur- chases both in the United States and Britain. Many of the Iraqi companies that bought U.S. technology legally turn out to have been military industries with innocuous sounding names that didn't set off alarms at the Commerce Department. In any case, the department was under White House orders to encourage trade Friday Q "Alternative Nationalisms," lec- tureRackham Building,Assem- bly Hall, 1-3 p.m. Q "Alternative Utopias: Civil So- ciety," lecture, Rackham Build- ing Assembly Hall, 3:30-5 p.m. Q Custodial Appreciation Week, pizza and games, Sports Coli- seum, contact Theresa Gleason 764-0521. Q Diwali Indian Festival of Lights Show, East Quad, RC Audito- rium, 8 p.m. U Drum Circle,Guild House Cam- pus Ministry, 802 Monroe St., 8-10 p.m. U Edward Parmentier, perform- ing on the harpsichord, School of Music, Blanche Anderson Moore Hall, 8 p.m. Q "Focus on Michigan," photog- raphy contest, City of Ann Ar- bor Parks and Recreation De- partment, accepting entries un- til December 1, 1992, contact Irene Bushaw 994-2780 Q Garden's Gathering Sale, mem- bers sale, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., 5-7 p.m. Q Korean Campus Crusade for Christ, Christian Fellowship, Campus Chapel, 8 p.m. Q "MulticulturalTeaching in Sci- ence," forum, West Engineer- ing Building, room 218,4 p.m. U Newman Catholic Student As- sociation, Rosary, 7:30 p.m.; Pre-Marriage Seminar; Saint Mary Student Chapel, 331 Th- ompson St.. Q Northwalk Nighttime Safety Walking Service, Bursley Hall, lobby, 763-WALK, 8-11:30 p.m. U Open HouseatAngell Hall Tele- K210,10a.m.-4p.m. U Safewalk Nighttime Safety Walking ServicesUGLi,lobby, 936-1000, 8-11:30 p.m. Q Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Club, CCRB, Martial Arts Room,6-7 p.m. Q ShulchanIvrit, Dominick's, 3:30 p.m. Q TaeKwonDo Club,regular work- out, CCRB, room 1200, 7-8:30 p.m. Q "The History of the Salem Burnings: The Three Hun- dred Year Commemoration," sponsoredby Guild House Cam- pus Ministry, 802 Monroe St., 12 p.m. Q "To Look for America: Reflec- tions on Fieldwork," Thrupp Lecture, Rackham Building, Amphitheatre, 4 p.m. Q U-M Ninjitsu Club, practice, I.M. Building,Wrestling Room G21, 6:30-8 p.m. Q "Voyages of the Mimi," lecture, School of Education Building, room 3014,9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Q "What Is To Be Done with Monumental Propaganda," Komar and Melamid lecture, Rackham Building, Amphithe- atre, 8 p.m. U Workshop Presenters Needed, for 1993 People of Color Career Conference, needed to plan and conduct workshop, apply by No- vember 2, contact Katrina McCree 763-0235. Saturday Q Garden's Gathering Sale, pub- lic sale, Matthaei Botanical Gar- dens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Q Northwalk Nighttime Safety Walking Service, Bursley Hall, Sunday Q APO Service Fraternity, pledge meeting,6p.m.; meeting, 7p.m.; Michigan Union, Kuenzel Room Q "Beyond Beef," lecture and dis- cussion, MLB, Lecture Room 1, 8 p.m. Q Blind Pig Blues Jam and Open Mic Night, Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., 9:30 p.m. - 2 a.m. Q Choral Evensong, sung by The Boychoir of Ann Arbor, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 306 N. Division St., 3 p.m. Q Crooked Lake Trail Hike, spon- sored by Sierra Club, meet at Ann Arbor City Hall, 100 N. Fifth Ave., parking lot, 1 p.rt. Q Dr. Nooden Lecture, Natural, Science Building,4th floorCon- ference Room, 8 p.m. Q Garden's Gathering Sale, pub- lic sale, Matthaei Botanical Gar- dens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd., 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Q "In Search of Family Values," lecture, Angell Hall, Auditorium B, 7:30 p.m. Q Jazz Combo, performance, Michigan League, Buffet, 6-8 p.m. Q Northwalk Nighttime Safety Walking Service, Bursley Hall, lobby, 763-WALK, 8p.m. -1:30 a.m. Q Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity, meeting, Michigan Union, Anderson Room, 6 p.m. U Safewalk Nighttime Safety Walking Service,UGLi, lobby, 936-1000,8 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. Q Safewalk Nighttime Safety Walking Service -Angell Hall, Angell Hall, Computing Cen- ter, 763-4246, 1:30-3 a.m. Q Student/P fessional Support Group, for young adults who with Iraq. The CIA, and possibly the Defense Intelligence Agency, knew the true nature of some of the Iraqi companies, according to a congres- sional investigator's documents ob- tained yesterday by The Associated Press. On Jan. 29, 1991, the senior congressional investigator met with CIA officials to ask what the agency had known about 25 of the Iraqi end users listed on U.S. export licenses, and whether the agency had notified the Commerce Department. F. Douglas Whitehouse, who headed the CIA's committee on technology transfer, said he had run a computer check comparing the 25 end users against a CIA data bank, according to the notes made by the investigator, who also was inter- viewed on the grounds that he not be identified. Whitehouse said he had come up with "about five hits" - five com- Student group to tutor in Detroit by Yawar Murad Daily Staff Reporter U-M students can take a first step to help urban Detroit if they attend the mass meeting of the Student Education Peer Program (STEPP) Sunday. "The philosophy of the group is to break the cycle of poverty through the strengthening of education," said LSA senior Jim Handel, STEPP president. Helen Bellanca, a U-M alumnus, began the STEPP program last year. The program aims to address the problems faced by youth studying in inner-city Detroit high schools. The program targets Detroit's Murray Wright High School, where group members serve as tutors and mentors. STEPP volunteers also provide financial and career resources information. STEPP travels to the school once a week. Because STEPP is entirely stu- dent-run, the high school students are comfortable dealing with the volunteers, program organizers said. "The aim is to put the students in touch with resources available to them in their community, specifi- cally the Detroit Compact program," Handel said. The Detroit Compact program is a partnership between Detroit busi- nesses and nublic schools. The pro- U panies about which the CIA had in- formation, said the investigator. He said the CIA told him it did not supply the information to the Commerce Department because it was never asked to do so. Complaints about the CIA's re- luctance to share information with other government agencies are le- gion. The problem was recently un- derscored in the case of an Italian bank branch in Atlanta that approved unauthorized loans to Iraq. The CIA earlier this month ad- mitted that it had failed to provide all the information it had to the judge in the case, and that it had found additional cables in its files in recent weeks. Congressional investigators say the CIA knew that Iraqi-owned companies were operating in the United States in 1989 and 1990 un- der the guise of civilian buying agents when in fact they were mili- tary purchasing fronts. Investigators want to know whether the CIA in- formed law enforcement agencies about that. The latest suggestion that the- CIA knew about such Iraqi front companies in the United States was" provided yesterday. The issue arose at the London trial of three former officials of an Iraqi-owned company - Matrix Churchill - that had a branch in England and another ou[ side Cleveland, Ohio. A 1987 British intelligence doc..: ument read in court yesterday said Iraq secretly bought machinery for- arms production from European- finns and had procured, among other things, U.S. bluepriits for a large bomb. A senior defense lawyer told London's Central Criminal Court that it was likely the CIA would have received this information. "Britain shares its information with U.S. and Western intelligence ser- vices," Geoffrey Robertson said. ._ F 1 I I Are You Considering Professional School? I is looking for future leaders in Public Affairs. We offer a 2-year Master's program in Public Policy, with concentrations offered in: " Criminal Justice " Energy & Environmental Policy " Government & Business " Health Policy " Housing & Community Development " Human Services, Labor & Education " International Affairs & Security " International Development " International Trade & Finance " Press & Politics " Science & Technology " Transportation " Urban Economic Development Interested? Then come meet with the Kennedy School Representative who will be on your campus on: DlATE: Wednesdav. November 4.1992 r