New research from the University of the Philippines Diliman has found the hormone doses in some common contraceptives could be lowered by as much as 92% and still be effective in preventing pregnancy. The results have raised hopes that people could one day take “the pill” without suffering as many side effects. Hormones in oral Read more
Posts Tagged ‘The Pill’
Blood clots. COVID-19 and why isn’t the Pill safer
Thursday, June 10th, 2021
Last month, as the Food and Drug Administration paused use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine to evaluate the risk of blood clots in women under 50, many scientists noted that clots associated with birth control pills were much more common. The comparison was intended to reassure women of the vaccine’s safety. Instead, it has Read more
Women are turning to birth control smartphone apps for a reason
Thursday, July 26th, 2018
Amid the targeted ads in my social media feeds, a war is playing out: two apps aggressively vie for my attention, stalking me from the sidebars of my browser and comprising every third photo in my Instagram feed. One offers to track my ovulation and get me pregnant. The other offers to do the same, Read more
Women have had enough of the pill. So why foist it on men?
Monday, March 26th, 2018
As scientific discoveries go, the male contraceptive pill has long been considered the unicorn of reproductive healthcare – much touted, but frustratingly elusive (in part, hindered by big pharma’s lack of desire to fund research). But on Sunday, Washington University scientists at the annual Endocrine conference hailed early trials which showed that a once-daily tablet that Read more
Push to lift restrictions on the pill
Tuesday, April 14th, 2015Pharmacists have asked health authorities to allow the pill to be bought over the counter without prescription. But GPs are warning the pill is not safe for all women, and that medical oversight is still needed. At present, only the emergency morning-after pill can be bought at a pharmacy without a prescription from the patient’s Read more
Pill could replace vasectomy
Friday, December 6th, 2013Scientists at Monash University in Melbourne say they have discovered a way to make male mice temporarily infertile, which could lead to a male contraceptive pill being available within a decade. AAP reports that deleting two proteins essential for sperm transport has been found to make male mice temporarily infertile . “Our technique is good Read more
Sweetening the pill
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013
Holly Grigg-Spall is a young woman who calls herself a feminist but who is deeply unpopular with some of the sisterhood right now. English, 30-ish, married to an American and living in California, she has written a book criticising the contraceptive pill. Actually, Sweetening the Pill: Or How We Got Hooked On Hormonal Birth Control is more than Read more
FDA advisers: revise popular birth control labels
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011U.S. health advisers recommended a revision of labels for the widely used new generation of birth control pills, based on data showing they may put women at a higher risk of dangerous blood clots.
Although all common birth control pills increase women’s chances of getting blood clots, concerns have recently been mounting about an even higher risk linked to a newer generation of pills that contain the compound drospirenone, such as Bayer AG’s popular Yaz and Yasmin.
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Nuns should take contraceptive pill as aid to reducing early mortality
Friday, December 9th, 2011
The Catholic Church should encourage nuns to use the contraceptive pill as a way to reduce the high death rates from breast, ovarian and uterine cancer, say two Australian scientists. They also argue, that according to the Church’s moral guidelines, religious women are free to take the pill for this purpose. As reported by the Guardian, Read more
Catholic groups fight contraceptive rule, but many already offer insurance coverage
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011The Catholic Church says new federal regulations requiring employers to provide no-cost prescription birth control as part of their health insurance plans infringe on their religious liberty.
“If we comply, as the law requires, we will be helping our students do things that we teach them, in our classes and in our sacraments, are sinful — sometimes gravely so,” Catholic University President John Garvey wrote in The Washington Post. “It seems to us that a proper respect for religious liberty would warrant an exemption for our university and other institutions like it.”
But while some insist that the rules, which spring from last year’s health law, break new ground, many states as well as federal civil rights law already require most religious employers to cover prescription contraceptives if they provide coverage of other prescription drugs.
While some religious employers take advantage of loopholes or religious exemptions, the fact remains that dozens of Catholic hospitals and universities currently offer contraceptive coverage as part of their health insurance packages.
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