J&J tries to weasel out of paying compensation. If a half-trillion dollar company can't afford to pay restitution to its victims then maybe jail-time for the executives involved would be a more palatable option.
I seem to recall, but can't find the source, that the science behind talc causing ovarian cancer is, at best, suspect. That considering the darn near universal usage of talc in mid-century USA, finding people who both used talc and developed ovarian cancer is not at all indicative of talc being a causal agent in the development of cancer. Does anyone who is more knowledgeable clarify?
And I do ask this as someone who really misses talc on those hot summer days.
The evidence is incredibly limited. Personally I'm more on board with the asbestos contamination angle, and while the companies should be punished for the failure of safety standards, it in no way contributes to the idea that actual talcum powder is unsafe.
Reuters' original exposé on the subject is a great overview of the epistemology:
Yeah, I'm not sure that the evidence stacks up for talc (J&J) and glyphosate (Roundup/Monsanto) being very problematic, but I also suspect these companies are guilty of all kinds of other harms, so they aren't all that sympathetic.