Birth Control Pills

Within two years, approximately 1.2 million women were using the pill, within five years five million women were using it, and by 1973, about 10 million American women were using the birth control pill (Snider). The FDA noted in the mid-1960s that so many people would never take such a potent drug voluntarily on a long-term basis for any reason other than having a disease. However, they continued to warn about possible side effects. According to the FDA, more studies have been carried out on the birth control pill than on any other medicine in history.

By 1961, there were suspicions of the birth control pill causing a predisposition to heart attacks and strokes (Snider). There was also evidence of blood clotting caused by the pill.

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efits apart from preventing pregnancy (Snider). It reduces the occurrence of ovarian and endometrial cancers, benign cysts of the ovaries and breasts, and pelvic inflammatory disease. It prevents heavy periods, which can lead to anemia. The latest pills have only 30 to 35 micrograms of estrogen, and it is too early to see if they will produce the same beneficial effects. Still, women who smoke, or are obese, or who have a history of blood clots, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, or breast cancer should not take the pill. In 1996, the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA concluded that certain birth control pills approved for daily use were safe and effective as emergency contraceptive pills (Pill 389). It reported that high doses of birth control pills containing ethinyl estradiol and norgestrel or levonorgestrel could substantially reduce the odds of a woman becoming pregnant if she took them after unprotected intercourse. Depending on the product, two to four pills had to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, and a second dose had to be taken 12 hours later. At this time, oral contraceptives had been approved for emergency use in several European countries and in New Zealand, b
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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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