I am the mother quoted in the last paragraph of Marie Brenner’s riveting and scrupulously researched article “Danger in the Ring” [January]. The Sony executive was my 31-year-old daughter, Shane.

This story has an equally horrific second chapter.

There are tens of thousands of young women who survive the initial contraceptive-related clotting episodes only to experience even greater peril during pregnancy for themselves and their unborn child.

As Brenner makes clear, the ob-gyn community often passes out contraception like candy, without ever properly assessing obvious risk factors for clotting disorders in their patients.

But even worse, they often lack the expertise to diagnose and treat the related fetal-clotting issues responsible for 20 percent of miscarriages and numerous other pregnancy issues, including stillbirth and maternal death.

Shane suffered a deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism while taking Yasmin. Eighteen months later, she became pregnant and began re-clotting, as did her fetus.

We lost our child, but not before watching helplessly as she also lost hers.

To Big Pharma and their medical/legalsupport complex, these young women are merely inconvenient statistics.

To ensure that families now have a voice and that the beautiful faces of the young lives lost (or needlessly jeopardized) are kept in public view, the Shane Foundation has formed a partnership with the March of Dimes to raise awareness and fund research for the prevention and treatment of contraceptiveand pregnancy-related blood-clotting disorders.

ROBERTA GOLD Encino, California

In “Danger in the Ring,” Marie Brenner asks a college-age woman to pose as a patient and visit a Planned Parenthood health center in Brooklyn, New York, to inquire about the risks of the hormonalbirth-control ring. We are deeply concerned about Brenner’s story because it misrepresents what Planned Parenthood does and the high-quality health care we provide.

As a physician at Planned Parenthood, I know that our patients place a deep trust in the health care and information we provide. To help patients make informed, safe decisions, our clinicians provide comprehensive information about the effectiveness and medically recognized risks and benefits of each available birth-control method, and answer any questions they have. Planned Parenthood’s health-care providers follow rigorous medical standards and guidelines, developed using the most current medical evidence available, including guidance from trusted medical organizations such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.), the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The C.D.C. publishes the best evidence on contraceptive use with medical conditions. That evidence shows that while there are many conditions that may increase a woman’s risk when using hormonal birth control, a family history of heart disease is not one of them. All hormonal-birth-control options (pills, patches, and the ring) carry risks of blood clots, but the risk is low—and much lower than the risk associated with pregnancy. Planned Parenthood doesn’t discuss a patient’s private medical history, but we do take seriously our patients’ safety and health. That’s why we know it’s important that women work with their providers to assess their individual risks when using certain drugs, including hormonal contraception.

DEBORAH NUCATOLA Senior director, Medical Services Planned Parenthood Federation of America New York, New York

I have just finished reading “Danger in I the Ring.” I anticipated, and finally _l_ saw, a reference to the Daikon Shield, another deadly intrauterine device (IUD), which was manufactured in the 1970s by A. H. Robins and became the subject of a class-action suit that resulted in an estimated $2.5 billion settlement.

Many aspects of your story brought me back to my own experience with the fatally flawed Daikon Shield. Like NuvaRing, the Daikon Shield was heavily marketed as the ideal birth-control device for women who have never been pregnant. I was a 19-yearold college student when I had the Shield inserted at a free health clinic. The procedure was brief but caused me to black out from the pain. Even so, I assured myself I had found a convenient solution for birth control.

Over the next few years, I had the Shield checked regularly by my ob-gyn and was repeatedly assured that there were no problems—at least until early 1977, when at age 24 I went to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain and cramping. I insisted that the E.R. physician remove the Daikon Shield, and the pain immediately subsided. It soon became apparent that the wick-like removal string on the Daikon Shield had obscured a massive abscess and rampant pelvic inflammatory disease. I spent more than a month in the hospital, where the doctors later told me I had “nearly died.” The infectious-disease specialist could not, despite trying every trick in his book, get my fever down. As a last resort, I finally consented to surgery that resulted in the removal of my uterus, Fallopian tubes, ovaries, and cervix.

I signed on to the class-action suit against A. H. Robins, and months after a withering deposition conducted by the lawyer from Aetna, A. H. Robins’s insurance company, I was awarded a $60,000 settlement, one-third of which went to my lawyer—even then, a paltry sum for the traumatic loss of my ability to bear children. I am appalled that, decades later, Big Pharma is still up to its old tricks. My hope is that your article raises awareness and generates the righteous outrage and action needed to stop these unconscionable greed-mongers from ruining more lives and breaking the hearts of so many families like the Langharts. Today, at age 61,1 have long been resigned to being childless, but I am grateful to be alive. My heart aches for those who weren’t so lucky.

SUSAN SHARPE San Rafael, California

As a family doctor, I am very concerned by the misleading, sensationalized information in “Danger in the Ring.” The deaths of these two young women are tragic; they are also incredibly rare. I fear that women will discontinue using NuvaRing, or any other safe and effective method, after reading this article. We’ve seen similar “pill scares” in recent years that resulted in a documented uptick in unplanned pregnancies and abortions. These are far more common health outcomes for women.

Doctors who provide reproductive health care take the risks of blood clots seriously. We consider that risk when prescribing birth control and menopause treatments, and especially when caring for pregnant patients, who are at greater risk for blood clots and other life-threatening conditions than women taking birth control.

Women deserve information based on medical evidence when deciding which method is best for them, not misleading and sensational reporting.

LIN-FAN WANG, M.D., M.P.H. Reproductive-health-advocacy fellow Physicians for Reproductive Health New York, New York

BIKRAM’S HOT MESS

I have been practicing Bikram yoga for more than three years, and although I am by no means a fanatic, I understand its addictive qualities. As you concentrate on each challenging pose, the mental focus required transports you to a meditative state that I can describe only as a trance. After completing a class I feel cleansed and transformed to an extent unachievable in any other workout I’ve tried. I understand how the women who came under the influence of Bikram Choudhury found it difficult to see him clearly and recognize his despicable behavior for what it was. Clearly he is a slimy megalomaniac who deserves all the bad Karma coming his way. Yet, despite my disdain for the man, I will not, cannot, give up my practice. From now on, I’ll just call it “hot yoga” and leave the Bikram out of it. Unfortunately, it’s going to take all the mental focus I can muster to get the image of him in his Speedo out of my head.

WENDY VAN WYCK GOOD Carmel Valley, California

I have known Bikram for 30 years, and can tell you he has worked tirelessly and dedicated his life to creating a business and style of yoga that can be practiced by everyone all over the world. It’s a special gift Bikram has: the ability to inspire the masses to do a very challenging workout and get amazing results.

Your article about Bikram Choudhury portraying him as a greedy rapist is nothing short of “get Bikram” hysteria. Jane One and Two both have questionable pasts, and Jane Three continued to go to training sessions and seminars where she would be near him even after the supposed harassment. Doesn’t that say something about their character?

There are not enough facts or evidence here. What really happened? Since when is someone considered guilty because of allegations? This journalism is like that of the National Enquirer; the graphic sexual details were pure sensationalism.

MARLON McGANN Snowmass Village, Colorado

FRIEZE FRAME

In his recent piece on the London Frieze show, A. A. Gill shouts that the emperor has no clothes [“Frieze Until Numbness Sets In,” January], I contend that he has been naked for decades. Modern art is mostly a con; why does a splatter painting by a chimp, indistinguishable from one by a “master,” not sell for millions? Because the one that does is sold as “important,” while the other is mere drippings on a canvas. An arrangement of random articles in a gallery, the meaning of which must be explained to the viewer, isn’t art—it’s politics, or philosophy, or maybe just bullshit. It seems like artists today are frantically searching for the next gimmick, but when the gimmick is obvious and the art isn’t, it isn’t art.

MIKE CAMPO Paonia, Colorado

MODERN FAMIGLIA

'Palazzo Intrigue” [by James Reginato, January], on Prince Jonathan Doria Pamphilj, was classic Vanity Fair: a peek behind the curtains of the storied lives of the rich. I was friends with Jonathan more than 20 years ago, when we were both in our 20s and briefly worked together at London’s esteemed River Cafe. I remember him as a modest, diligent, and charming guy who was working in the kitchen to gain experience before opening his own restaurant on Isla Margarita. (Fun fact: actress Emily Mortimer was another restaurant worker there of famous pedigree; she was as modest and lovely as Jonathan.)

He spoke lovingly and often of his parents (particularly his mother) and how accepting they were of him; he was also proud and knowledgeable about his lineage.

I couldn’t be more thrilled for him that he’s got a happy family of his own and successfully overcame his sister in her attempt to disinherit his children because they belong to a non-traditional family.

DOUG FIELDS New York, New York

As a single, gay father of two children, I can’t thank you enough for the article about Jonathan Doria Pamphilj and his impressive family. I don’t see intrigue but rather two people who love each other and, despite their great wealth and surrounding splendor, had to jump through countless hoops for the privilege of parenthood. By your account they now have two very wanted, very loved children. They are, apparently, pioneers in Italy.

I live in Chamberlain, Maine, and come from a steady line of pioneers dating back to the inception of America. My Dutch and British ancestors, both highborn and low, settled this country, be it in top government or in the field. These spirited people fought for freedom from religious persecution in America, our independence as a nation, the California frontier, rights for American Indians, and the vote for women. All were considered “radical” ideas in their time, but how would we view ourselves nowadays without them?

I love every single minute of fatherhood, and I do not take it for granted. And God bless America that I can actually be a father and true to myself.

HOWARD HUBERTY Chamberlain, Maine

More from THE V.F. MAILBAG

"My partner and I had the pleasure of sitting across from [January cover girl] Amy Adams on a flight," writes Jim Sullivan, from Chicago. "She took pictures with fans before we boarded (without drawing attention to herself) and was so kind and sincere to the flight attendants. Not a hint of Hollywood ego could be detected."

Easily detectable, in contrast, was the range of reactions to "Bikram Feels the Heat," by Benjamin Wallace, and "Big Hair on Campus," by William D. Cohan: "Your recent issue included articles on two of society's currently most blatant megalomaniacs: Donald Trump and Bikram Choudhury," writes Leslie Tejada, of Corvallis, Oregon. "If they are both convicted for their misdeeds, could they share a prison cell? What would they talk about?" Maybe they'd talk about Graydon Carter, because "Mr. Carter, in his monthly Editor's Letter, has outdone himself," says Margo Howard, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. "If the pen is mightier than the sword, then Donald Trump doesn't have a prayer against Graydon," writes Dennis Kline, from Irvine, California. "First I snickered," reports Donna Hendrick, from Santa Cruz, California, about the Editor's Letter. "Then I chuckled and perhaps chortled. And then I was boldly laughing out loud."

On the other hand: "I just became a big fan of Donald Trump because he has Graydon Carter pegged to a T! Print this if you dare." O.K. Now what, R.C., of Fort Lauderdale?

Finally, Carl Reddick, of Santa Ana, California, has this to say: "I don't care about your feud with Donald Trump. Articles about birth-control devices, Downton Abbey, Armini [sic] clothes for women, Valley Girl C.E.O.'s, and ads featuring Lady Gaga selling Versace purses also are puzzling in a publication I originally subscribed to as being a 'magazine for men.' Oh wait, that's been erased from the cover, too. Where are you going, Esquire? Get a grip." Where indeed, Esquire? Where indeed!

#VFLETTERS

The article on Bikram Choudhury caused a lot of heat on Twitter—and not just in the pun department. Below, a few of the highlightsfrom our readers.

@ M ATTHEWSHAE R

Come for the yogic intrigue, stay for the phrase "suicideprevention sexual Samaritan."

@ANGELASW

I love the yoga, but this is absolutely horrifying

@K_SREEHARSHA

After reading this @VanityFair article on Bikram of hot #Bikramyoga I feel like practicing yoga in the snow

@D0NTJEKN0W

turns out the heat is not the worst part of bikram yoga, by far

@MAKI_KITAMURA

Bikram #Yoga founder in a speedo ... and his other atrocities:

@ANEESSA

Bikram fan ... ? This will have you thinking twice.

@GITAGDVI NDA

"I'm English. We don't do cults." Oh honey, sure you do.

@WALKER0N RADIO

This is a fabulous, fascinating and disturbing article. I keep doing it 2x a week and loving it—I swear by it—

@LINDSEYWIEBE

Exhaustive @vanityfair piece on the guru behind Bikram yoga, who by multiple accounts is pretty much a horrible man

Letters to the editor should be sent electronically with the writer’s name, address, and daytime phone number to letters@vf.com. All requests for back issues should be sent to subscriptions@vf.com. All other queries should be sent to vfmail@vf.com. The magazine reserves the right to edit submissions, which may be published or otherwise used in any medium. All submissions become the property of Vanity Fair.