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 […]
In recent hearings on Capitol Hill, freshman Representative Lauren Underwood challenged Labor Secretary Alex Acosta on his Cabinet department’s efforts to allow insurance exemptions to employers who wish not to cover birth control for religious reasons. She told him, “Women’s lives and their health depend on their ability to access contraceptives.” Then, citing the many […]
The term ‘Spin Doctor’ wouldn’t be coined until much later, but it was already clear by the time of the Nelson Pill Hearings that some prominent physicians were willing to twist statistics, incorporate doublespeak, and create confusion in any way they could to defend hormonal birth control. They were Spin Doctors in the truest sense. Fortunately, […]
I’m writing this article with all the trepidation of someone walking into a Thai restaurant with a peanut allergy — knowing it could go horribly wrong.I want to discuss politics. More precisely, I want to talk about a political fight by apolitical means. When it really comes down to it, hormonal birth control and women’s […]
My position as a women’s health advocate is frequently challenged merely because I am a man. I’m okay with that because it’s a valid point. I will never experience firsthand many of the issues that concern me. However, I don’t believe that means I should be forced to remain silent on matters related to women’s […]
No sooner had we landed than my phone began to convulse with a cacophony of bells and chimes. Most of the notifications were last minute details about the live broadcast that brought me to town. In one voice message, a coworker informed me that the producer cancelled our pre-production dinner meeting because of her migraines. He […]