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Home =C2=BB Health &=20 Wellness =C2=BB Women=E2=80=99s=20 Health =C2=BB Women's Sexual=20 Health =C2=BB Death, Lawsuits, and the Pill =

Death, Lawsuits, and the Pill

The Case Against Hormonal Birth Control =

=C2=A9 Mara Linda = Yu

Mar 5, 2007 =

Birth=20 control pills and patches may be popular and easy to use, but they have = many=20 associated health risks that you may not know about.

When the first birth control pill came out in 1960, it was lauded as = a symbol=20 of women=E2=80=99s empowerment and liberation. Now, women could enjoy = sex just like men=20 did, without worrying about getting pregnant. Of course, there was the=20 diaphragm, but it had to be inserted before sex, and was therefore less=20 convenient than a miracle pill that allowed one to have sex whenever and = wherever she wanted. And condoms of the time were unerotically thick, = with seams=20 on their sides.

To this day, the Pill and other hormonal methods remain some of the = most=20 popular contraceptives out there. It seems so easy and modern to take a = small=20 pill every day, or to get a shot or implant like Depo Provera or = Norplant, or=20 even to wear a patch like the Ortho Evra. But there=E2=80=99s definitely = a dark side.=20 Aside from the fact that these methods don=E2=80=99t protect against HIV = and STDs,=20 hormonal birth control increases one=E2=80=99s risk of many serious = illnesses. Let=E2=80=99s=20 take a look at a few cases.

Norplant, the implant that can be placed under one=E2=80=99s skin for = five years, was=20 pulled off the market in 2002 for many reasons, one of them being the = number of=20 lawsuits it received for causing conditions like depression, ovarian = cysts, hair=20 loss, and dangerous blood clots that could lead to stroke and heart = disease.[1] Another controversy around Norplant, and the = long-lasting=20 shot Depo Provera,[2] was in regards to their use in women prisoners, = who were=20 forced to use these products as a condition of parole despite severe = health=20 risks. This became an equal rights issue because it disproportionately = affected=20 working class and minority women, as well as those with handicaps like = mental=20 illness. [3]

The Ortho Evra birth control patch has been linked to 23 deaths, = including a=20 17 year old who died of a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition = usually found=20 in senior citizens.[4] Young people contracted these illnesses because = they used=20 hormonal methods like Ortho Evra, which put chemicals called progestins = in the=20 body. Although they are similar in structure to the natural hormone=20 progesterone, which is produced during pregnancy, progestins=E2=80=99 = effects are very=20 different and sometimes dangerous. The NuvaRing[5], an externally worn ring endorsed by = celebrities, causes=20 some of the same problems as Ortho Evra.

Pills like Mircette and Ortho-Tri-Cyclen, which contain a compound = called=20 desogestrel, are coming under scrutiny as blood clot sufferers have = filed a=20 class action lawsuit[6]. Again, girls as young as 16 have been dying = from these=20 products, and doctors, including family doctors and, in Canada, school = nurses,=20 have been prescribing these dangerous substances[7].

Does this mean that we should only avoid Norplant, Depo Provera, = Ortho Evra,=20 and pills with desogestrel? No, because although some types of birth = control=20 have not been proven unhealthy, they all contain the same category of=20 substances, some of whose dangers have not yet been discovered.

Blood clots and strokes aren=E2=80=99t the only dangers inherent in = hormonal birth=20 control. These contraceptives also raise the risk of breast cancer, = which is=20 commonly known as one of the top killers of women over the age of 40. = Although=20 older women, particularly those who feel like they have enough children, = often=20 opt for more long-lasting birth control methods such as tubal ligation = or the=20 IUD, those who have used hormonal birth control in the past are more at = risk for=20 breast cancer than those who have not.

So what can women do to have safer heterosexual sex, if hormonal = birth=20 control has been proven to be dangerous? Condoms are the best method, = being as=20 they protect against both STDs and pregnancy. Many of today=E2=80=99s = condoms are ultra=20 thin, and using a lubricant both increases their efficacy and the = sensation felt=20 by both partners. There is also the old-fashioned diaphragm and the = cervical=20 cap, both of which do not provide protection against STDs, but which are = effective and time-tested. There is also a product called the sponge, = which=20 contains sperm-killing chemicals, but which does not protect against = STDs=20 either. Modern science has a slew of new contraceptives in the pipeline, = from=20 gels that kill both sperm and HIV to spray-on condoms[8][9].

Let=E2=80=99s hope, for safety=E2=80=99s sake, that dangerous = hormonal birth control=E2=80=99s days=20 are numbered. Hopefully, improvements in condom design and other = technologies=20 will make sex better for both men and women, and eliminate the prospect = of STDs=20 and unwanted pregnancy for good.

[1] = http://popdev.hampshire.edu/projects/dt/dt16.php

[2]=20 http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1991/11/knaus.html

[3]=20 http://www.aclu.org/reproductiverights/contraception/16528res19940131.htm= l

[4]=20 http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/ortho_evra_sued.html?ref=3D= article

[5]=20 http://mfile.akamai.com/12922/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/1130/10426594.200k.a= sx

[6]=20 http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2007/0= 2/20/News/Controversial.Pills.Stay.On.Shelves-2730109.shtml

[7]=20 http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2005/04/26/Pill-nurses050426.html

[8] = http://www.aegis.com/news/DMG/2006/MG060404.html

[9]=20 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=3D2&objectid=3D104= 13596

The copyright of the article Death, = Lawsuits,=20 and the Pill in Women's Sexual Health is owned = by Mara Linda Yu. = Permission to republish Death, Lawsuits, and the Pill = must be=20 granted by the author in writing.

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