Thousands of women are currently taking legal action against the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, alleging that its widely-used birth control injection has resulted in them developing ‘life-altering’ brain tumors.

In an exclusive statement to the Daily Mail, attorneys revealed that Pfizer is set to face trial on December 7, 2026. Over 2,100 women across the United States have filed lawsuits, claiming they were not adequately informed about the link between the birth control shot, Depo-Provera, and the risk of developing serious, potentially incurable, benign brain tumors.

Depo-Provera, a contraceptive method in use for decades, is administered to approximately 2 million women annually. This injection, given in the arm or buttocks every three months, releases the synthetic hormone progestin to prevent pregnancy.

Recent research conducted over the last two years indicates that the shot is associated with a more than 500 percent increased risk of developing brain tumors, even long after the medication is discontinued.

In response to these findings, Pfizer added a warning label to Depo-Provera last month, highlighting the risk of meningiomas—benign tumors that can remain undetected in the brain and spine for years. Despite their non-cancerous nature, these tumors can still result in severe outcomes such as blindness, seizures, and memory loss.

Virginia Buchanan, a partner at the law firm Levin Papantonio, who initiated a class-action lawsuit against Pfizer last year, is also a court-appointed co-chair of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee and a member of the Trial Committee. She informed the Daily Mail that the addition of the warning label is ‘long overdue’ and ‘has been a long time coming.’

She urged women who have been diagnosed with a meningioma and who have taken Depo-Provera to contact a lawyer in their area working on the case ‘sooner rather than later’ to be included in the litigation.  

She told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s a critical women’s health issue since birth control is something that millions of women rely upon for making their family planning decisions, and it’s critical to have something that is safe.’ 

Thousands of women are suing Pfizer over claims its Depo-Provera birth control (pictured here) caused them to develop brain tumors 

The number of women signing on to sue Pfizer has surged five-fold since May, and Buchanan estimates more are expected to come forward. 

‘We have had a significant uptick in the filings, and I hope that with a greater reach, with more information coming out about the FDA warning and about this risk, that more women will come forward,’ Buchanan said. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Pfizer for comment but has not received a response.

CDC data estimates nearly one in four sexually active women, roughly 40 million, in the US have used Depo-Provera at least once in their lifetime. 

Depo-Provera contains progestin, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone, which prevents pregnancy by stopping ovulation and thinning the lining of the uterus. This makes it difficult for an egg to implant itself.

Experts believe progestin overstimulates receptors in the meninges, membranes lining the skull and spine, where meningiomas grow. This could lead to cells mutating and forming tumors.

A landmark 2024 study in the British Medical Journal compared over 18,000 women who underwent meningioma surgery to healthy control subjects. 

The team found use of Depo-Provera for 12 or more months was associated with a 5.6-fold increased risk of developing a meningioma. 

Another study published in 2025 in the journal Expert Opinion on Drug Safety found that the use of Depo-Provera by women of childbearing age for more than one year was associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk of developing an intracranial meningioma compared to the use of birth control pills.

Meningiomas grow in the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and strike 170,000 Americans every year. 

Nine in 10 are benign, meaning they are not cancerous. However, they can still lead to frightening side effects. Buchanan told the Daily Mail that plaintiffs facing off against Pfizer have reported impaired hearing, vision and smell, along with seizure disorders. 

Andrea Faulks, a 55-year-old from Alabama, is one of more than 2,100 women suing Pfizer over claims her Depo-Provera birth control gave her a brain tumor

Sherry Brown, of Louisiana, was diagnosed with two meningiomas nearly two decades after she stopped taking Depo-Provera. If her treatments are unsuccessful, she will need brain surgery

The tumors grow slowly, so common symptoms like headaches and coordination issues may take years or even decades to be linked, Buchanan said. Many women also experience cognitive and behavioral shifts that lead family members to take notice first.

‘We have family members saying [the plaintiffs] are not who they used to be, or our client will say, “My children are telling me, ‘Mom, you don’t act like you used to act,’” Buchanan told the Daily Mail.

‘We are seeing some some real and life-changing issues occurring,’ she added. ‘We’re continuing to get an education about just how traumatic this is to people and how life-changing it can be.’

The lawsuits allege that Pfizer was aware of the link between these birth control injections and brain tumors and that they failed to adequately warn of the risk and promote safer alternatives. 

‘The basis of this lawsuit is there should have been a warning,’ Buchanan said. ‘These women who have now been diagnosed, they can’t go back and undo or redo what they’ve been exposed to, but certainly women going forward can.’

She also notes that awareness about the lawsuit can help women who may have a meningioma be diagnosed faster and avoid lasting disabilities. 

‘It encourages at least a more rapid diagnosis so women don’t have to undergo a significant surgery or have a growth of a size that just can’t be removed,’ she added. 

‘We’ve had a number of clients who had partial removal and surgeons couldn’t get it all. It’s a scary thing to think you have an inoperable brain tumor, because even if it’s benign, if it’s compressing on critical nerves or something that controls an important bodily function, that’s a very scary thing.’ 

Faulks is seen here ringing a bell after completing radiation treatment for her meningioma. She is now waiting to see if she will need surgery to remove the tumor

Buchanan told the Daily Mail that the number of women suing Pfizer has surged five-fold and is expected to continue growing

Law firms are also investigating potential class actions in other jurisdictions, including in Europe, Australia, South Africa and Canada.

Buchanan told the Daily Mail that while Pfizer sought Depo-Provera’s safety label change from the FDA, the company has largely denied wrongdoing and has maintained that the product is safe enough to keep on the market.

‘Given that there are already thousands of cases filed and vetted that now with the FDA warning, we are going to continue to see additional growth with that.’ 

The trial currently scheduled for December will be for one plaintiff who alleges she developed a meningioma from Depo-Provera, and trials for four other plaintiffs will occur every 60 days after. Pfizer can choose to settle at any point or could move to resolve the claims before trial.

Buchanan said: ‘This case brings about the opportunity to have a trial, have the experts, have the documents, all of the things that a well-informed jury would need to know to corroborate what we’ve been contending all along, that this is a product that carries with it a significant risk, and that women should have the choice in choosing something that has less of that.

‘People should be talking to attorneys sooner rather than later.’