We live in a world where people are obsessed with getting a little nip here and a lot of tuck there, all in the pursuit of beauty and perfection. But for thousands of French women beauty and perfection came at a price so high it cost some their lives.

According to The Guardian recent reports found that French company Poly Implant Prosthesis (PIP), one of the world’s leading producers of silicone implants, began trying to save money by using industrial silicone instead of medical-grade silicone in breast implants and using weak casings that are more likely to rupture or leak than those used in other implants. The result? Four women who received the implants now have cancer and two others have died. Because it’s unclear if the cancer was caused to the implants women feel like they are being made to feel that the problems are their fault, so they decided to make their voices heard.
Yesterday women who used PIP products held a demonstration outside the French health ministry to demand that the government do more to help the victims, including paying for removal of the implants. Dominique Poitou, who received a PIP implant during a breast reconstruction after cancer treatment, said:
“It’s very hard to rebuild my life. We feel judged, we feel that we’re not taken seriously because it’s linked to cosmetic surgery. That’s unfair. This scandal is criminal. You wouldn’t implant this type of material into animals, let alone women.”

The women are definitely justified in their anger against PIP’s toxic implants and the French government’s lack of action. No one should have to die simply because they chose to have an elective surgery and companies should be forced to comply with strict guidelines when making products used within the human body. However, when the price of beauty is potentially your life, when do you say enough is enough and start accepting yourself as is?