Science on Trial: The Clash of Medical Evidence and the Law in the Breast Implant Case

Introduced in 1962, silicone breast implants had been used by between one and two million women by the time they were virtually banned in 1992 by David A. Kessler of the Food and Drug Administration. While the ban came about because manufacturers had failed to demonstrate the safety of the devices, Marcia Angell, executive editor of The New England Journal of Medicine, argues that there actually was no medical consensus to support the contention that implants could cause widespread illness. Science on Trial examines the silicone debate and argues for the reliance on scientific evidence "to curb the greed, fear and self-indulgence" of such disputes.