ONE MORE TIME: LAY OFF THE PREGNANT MARES' URINE

Apparently it wasn't clear when the government stopped trials of Premarin and progestin back in July 2003 for their dangerous side effects. Now the NIH has stopped a large trial of women taking estrogen alone "after finding the pills not only failed to improve their health but may have slightly raised the risk of strokes." The 11,000 women in this part of the trial were taking Wyeth Co.'s Premarin, an estrogen-only pill made from the urine of pregnant mares. Another version of the story says that the women "had a significantly increased risk of stroke, and possibly a higher risk of dementia too." It's always important to apply the what-goes-around-comes-around theory when abusing animals. In a story on the plight of the horses involved, one person observes, "They work for us. And they make so much money. Then they're just tossed as a by-product." The same could be said, to a lesser degree, of all the women who were played for chumps by Wyeth and its ilk.