Fifty years ago this month, a vibrant group of young women put on their best dresses and placed themselves strategically around the senate gallery. They were eager to disrupt and ready to make some noise but had no idea the impact they were about to make on the course of history. They were attending the […]
Trigger warning – this article may be difficult for anyone who struggles with grief or a sense of loss over the holidays.I’ve spent the last few years of my life writing about the (somewhat) measurable side effects of hormonal birth control. The impossibly diverse list of consequences range from strokes and skin cancer to migraines […]
In general, I try to avoid concentrating on a single type of hormonal birth control when discussing layers of rot among contraceptives. I never want to create the impression that another method might be safe by comparison. The degree of safety (or lack thereof) is not universal. A low-dose combination Pill that may be ‘relatively […]
All throughout school I was something of a class clown. The only difference between then and now is that now I have no class. So, it’s no surprise that it was a joke that first made me start thinking critically (some would argue cynically) about the medical industry.Q: Do you know what they call the […]
If you’ve ever watched a sporting event, you’re probably familiar with the unpredictable nature of ‘momentum.’ It’s that stretch of a game where everything suddenly seems to be going right for your team. Every pass hits its mark. Impossible plays are made. Every loose ball bounces your way. As the name implies, it feels like […]
It is interesting and devastating to look at the story arc of hormonal birth control’s acceptance in the medical community. At the time of the Nelson Pill Hearings in 1970, many top physicians were upset because they felt The Pill had been forced upon them by the drug industry. They were alarmed by significant side […]
Hormonal birth control is bad. It just is.I know there are women who say they took it for decades and it didn’t do any harm to their bodies. It’s possible that’s true for a very small percentage of women. Maybe it didn’t cause any noticeable harm, but I can guarantee it didn’t do anything good […]
The FDA just received a Citizen’s Petition submitted by a group of physicians, scientists, and women’s health advocates regarding side effects caused by hormonal birth control. After a comprehensive review of literature, the petitioners believe there is enough compelling evidence to warrant new and more forceful warnings for all hormonal birth control products. I am […]