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Certain oral contraceptives, such as Enovid, were approved for use in the US in the early 1960s. In the years following FDA approval, there were reports of women suffering from side effects while using these oral contraceptives. There was a focus on studying these side effects in the US at the time because it was clear that women were suffering from some potential side effects, and the risk of using the oral contraceptives was unclear at the time. I'm interested in seeing how these side effects that women dealt with were reported on, and whether they were taken seriously.

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U.S. Offering Birth Control Help To the Underdeveloped Nations- June 22, 1965 in the New York Times

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U.S. Offering Birth Control Help To the Underdeveloped Nations- June 22, 1965 in the New York Times

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This article shows how there were concerns about the poorly understood side effects for women in the US, but not much of a concern for women in other countries. People in the US, such as the US senators mentioned in this article, continued to push for the implementation of birth control programs in countries outside of the US. The idea of needing to control the world's growing population was one of the driving factors behind the effort to develop oral contraceptives in the first place. In most cases, scientists or politicians in the US saw the growing populations of other countries as a problem that needed to be controlled through birth control programs implemented in the US. This article specifically names some of the countries, and refers to them demeaningly as "underdeveloped nations" that need help in slowing down their population growth. Given the fact that the side effects of oral contraceptives were in question in the US at this time, it shows how the health of women in other countries was not taken seriously because there is no mention of how women in other countries might also be affected by the side effects of oral contraceptives like Enovid.

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U.S. Offering Birth Control Help To the Underdeveloped Nations

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WASHINGTON, June 21 -- Cautiously and as unobstrusively as possible, the Administration is going ahead in helping underdeveloped nations curb their growing populations.

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Primary source from the Margaret Sanger Papers- A few pages from a 1960 Newsweek brochure titled “A New Look at the Population Crisis"

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Primary source from the Margaret Sanger Papers- A few pages from a 1960 Newsweek brochure titled “A New Look at the Population Crisis"

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This primary source shows how the side effects men suffered were usually taken more seriously than the side effects that women suffered. A comment from Kimmi on my I-Search paper was about male contraceptives, and how developing oral contraceptives for men has not been as successful, and this is at least partly because the men also suffered side effects when oral contraceptives were being developed and tested, and the side effects that they suffered were taken seriously.  side effects were taken seriously. That reminded me of this primary source. It specifically mentions that some of the side effects of oral contraceptive pills were that it caused men to "lose their potency, and even sexual desires". For some groups of women it only mentions "disagreeable side effects",  and for other groups of women it doesn't mention any side effects at all.

Reference for full primary source: “A New Look at the Population Crisis" Margaret Sanger Papers: Smith College Collections, Margaret Sanger correspondence, Newsweek, April 1960, pp. 26-41, ProQuest History Vault, https://congressional.proquest.com/histvault?q=002681-056-0923&accountid=14524. Accessed 11 June 2023.

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British Issue Warning on Oral Contraceptive Pill- August 4, 1962 in the New York Times

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British Issue Warning on Oral Contraceptive Pill- August 4, 1962 in the New York Times

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This primary source reports on the possibility of dangerous side effects, such as blood clots. However, the article focuses a lot on how there is no definite link, and mentions that a manufacturer of Enovid had stated that links between several women who had taken Enovid had died from blood clots were coincidental. It also mentions how Dr. Pincus, who researched contraceptives, had tested Enovid in a study on 2,000 Puerto Rican women and had not found there to be any side effects. I think it is fair to wonder whether he would have taken any reports of side effects seriously. I also do think it was fair to report to the public that correlation does not equal causation, and there was no definite proof at this time that Enovid was causing harm to these women. However, I do think that if it were men that were primarily taking oral contraceptives, and they were the ones getting blood clots, then this issue would have been taken more seriously and the reports on the issue would not be so quick to dismiss the possibility of a link.

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British Issue Warning on Oral Contraceptive Pill; Medical Journal Notes Cases of Blood Clots and Death No Definite Link Found

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A warning in a British medical publication yesterday on the use of an oral contraceptive pill available here has touched off a flurry of inquiries.

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Birth Pill's Sale is Upheld in the U.S.- August 4, 1963 in the New York Times

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Birth Pill's Sale is Upheld in the U.S.- August 4, 1963 in the New York Times

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This primary source shows how the dangerous side effects that someone dealt with were downplayed in reports to the public, such as this newspaper article. The main title of this article does not focus on the side effects or the warning from the FDA. The article explains that Enovid was found to have dangerous side effects for some women, particularly women over the age of 34. I think it also indicates that it was probably not just a coincidence that some women who were taking Enovid were getting blood clots, as suggested in the previous source. The article mentions a finding from an FDA panel stating that "The rate of deaths from clotting among women of 34 was significantly greater if they took the pills". This seems like a serious finding, and I think the way it was being reported downplays the seriousness of how many women this did or could have affected.

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BIRTH PILL’S SALE IS UPHELD BY U.S.; But Agency Warns on Use for Women Over 34 Death Rate Climbs Company Pleased

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 The Food and Drug Administration said today that Enovid, the popuar birth control pill, could remain on the market but that doctors should prescribe it with caution, particularly for women over 34 years old.

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Birth Control Pills 'Safe,' Drug Agency Report Says- September 5, 1969 in the New York Times

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Birth Control Pills 'Safe,' Drug Agency Report Says- September 5, 1969 in the New York Times

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Similar to the previous primary source, this is another article that has a positive main title that may be downplaying the seriousness of the findings. The article is on an FDA report and says that it was found that birth control pills were "safe for women but that there was a definite cause-and-effect relationship between the use of the pill and deaths caused by blood clotting disorders". Again, I think that news articles might have looked a lot different if men were the ones suffering from these side effects, or maybe the side effects would have been reported on earlier and not two decades after the FDA approved the oral contraceptive for general use.

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Birth Control Pills ‘Safe,’ Drug Agency Report Says; F.D.A. Calls Birth Control Pills ‘Safe’

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 -- The Food and Drug Administration formally reported today that the birth control pills being taken by 8.5 million American women were “safe” but that there was a definite cause-and-effect relationship between the use of “the pill” and deaths caused by blood clotting disorders.

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Warning on Pill Drafted by F.D.A- March 5, 1970 in the New York Times

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Warning on Pill Drafted by F.D.A- March 5, 1970 in the New York Times

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This primary source shows how information on the potentially harmful side effects were not fully reported to women when the use of oral contraceptives was approved in the early 1960s. Ten years later, in 1970, the FDA announced that it would provide a leaflet of information on potential side effects to the buyer. If part of being able to give informed consent about taking an oral contraceptive means having all the information needed to make that decision, then it seems women were not given the necessary information during the first decade after oral contraceptives were sold.

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WARNING ON PILL DRAFTED BY F.D.A.; Agency Wants Leaflet on Hazards Given to Users of Birth Control Drugs

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WASHINGTON, March 4-- The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to put information on the hazards of birth control pills directly into the hands of the women who use them.

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Birth Control Pill Hailed In Risks-Benefits Study- December 27, 1980 in the New York Times

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Birth Control Pill Hailed In Risks-Benefits Study- December 27, 1980 in the New York Times

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I also wanted to include a primary source reporting on positive findings of benefits of oral contraceptives (specially for women under 30) from a study done by a researcher at the CDC. This article does mention how there were negative findings in other studies around this same time. I think this primary source show how there still was not a full understanding of the side effects of oral contraceptives even 20 years after the initial FDA approval. It also shows how there seemed to be a widely-accepted consensus on oral contraceptives not being entirely safe for women in some age groups.

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Birth Control Pill Hailed In Risks-Benefits Study

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ATLANTA, Dec. 26 (AP)--Despite recent studies linking birth control pills to heart disease, a researcher at the Federal Centers for Disease Control says that some studies suggest that the pill also reduces the incidence of some forms of cancer and arthritis.

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I wanted to include a recent source for how oral contraceptives are reported to the public today. I think that the side effects that women may deal with are taken more seriously now, and there is much more scientific research on oral contraceptives in order to ensure that they are safe for women. Page 7 and 8 of this pdf from Planned Parenthood talk about some of the side effects and safety of oral contraceptives, and cites scientific articles to support the information presented. One thing that stands out is how the size of the studies to test the effectiveness and side effects of oral contraceptives has grown. In the safety section of this pdf, it mentions a longitudinal study that was done on 46,112 women. Comparing this to the study on 2,000 women that Dr. Pincus mentions in one of the articles above shows how much the research on the safety and effectiveness of oral contraceptives have changed over time. Since studies like this are now done on much larger populations of women over longer periods of time, it is more likely that any potential side effects will be better understood, and that contraceptives or certain dosages that are too risky will be avoided.