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 […]
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 […]
It was two months since I had stopped taking The Pill. Might I add, I hate how culturally grammatical we have to be when we write, “The Pill”. THE Pill is how I read it; it’s 2019, and it all still seems so covertly retro. Anyway, it is hard to go back in time because […]
On March 6th, 2019, I went to the podiatrist. When I was in the exam room, the receptionist asked if she could take my blood pressure and weigh me. I said, ‘I’m here for my feet, but okay.’ I was agitated that she was asking for these readings, but I allowed her to take my […]
Over the last several years, stories of young women, many of them athletes (here, here), suffering from dangerous and sometimes deadly blood clots have filled the press and academic literature (here, here, here). Often mentioned in passing is the fact that these women were taking hormonal contraceptives at the time of the event. As a mom […]
I am a 37 year old woman who has been taking birth control since I was 15 years old and I had a pulmonary embolism (PE) while driving last year. I was on Aviane for over 6 years and then switched to Camrese on 9/19/18 and was taking that up until the PE on 12/13/2018. […]
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, […]