What is the history of the development of the first hormonal contraception? When did Envoid (the first introduced hormonal contraception) first hit the markets in the United States, changing the way we view sex, marriage, and children?
Early Development
In the 1930s, chemist Dr. Carl Djerassj found that high-dose progesterone stops ovulation from occurring during animal experiments. In the 1940s, he synthesized progestin from an extract of the Mexican wild yam root, which allowed him to stop ovulation in women’s cycles.
In the 1950s, Drs. John Rock & Gregory Pincus began working together to develop hormonal contraception under the direction of Margaret Sanger, who was eager to have her “magic pill” developed, and the funding of Katherine McCormick.
Eugenics & Racism
Margaret Sanger did not see any major issues with the eugenics movement, although she argued that her desire for worldwide access of birth control for women varied in its goals in comparison with eugenics. She thought that birth control would preserve and support the work of eugenics, although she believed that a woman should have control over the timing and spacing of birthing children as a duty to herself as a woman rather than as a duty of the state (which was more commonly agreed upon in the eugenics movement. Although it is debated if she wanted to help women in low-income situations, her personal writings strongly support her belief that white, wealthy families were capable of having children. Keep in mind, that Margaret Sanger was raised in a socialist home, so her views on everyone having access to birth control and only certain types of people should ideally reproduce fit into the socialist ideology she was raised with and persists today. Additionally, The New York Planned Parenthood denounced Margaret Sanger as its founder because of her murky past and her support of eugenics, along with her own beliefs around who should and should not procreate.
Clinical Trials, Informed Consent, & Dismissing Dignity
During early clinical trials of the pill Drs. Pincus & Rock developed, two larger trials were conducted on female volunteer nurses in Puerto Rican hospitals (1956) & involuntary female psychiatric patients at Worcester State Hospital (1954). The lack of education about the trial and what was taking place continues to cause controversy to this day.
During the testing in Puerto Rico, two female physicians drew attention to the severe side effects women were experiencing and these same side effects caused many nurses to drop out of the trial. The dropouts frustrated both doctors immensely, who were very frustrated with the delay of being able to see this in the drug market in the near future. Ultimately, Dr. Pincus and his male colleagues downplayed these side effects and supported the bid to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for approval and administration in various health care settings.
First HBC is Approved by the FDA
In 1957, Envoid, the first hormonal contraception, was approved by the FDA and it was allowed to be prescribed in June 1957 for gynecological disorders. However, doctors could prescribe it as contraception if they felt comfortable doing so for their patients. In June 1960, the FDA approved the use of Envoid in June 1960 and it was initially allowed to be prescribed for two years. Initially, Envoid was only prescribed to married women. Early iterations of the pill had drastically different dosages, which caused severe side effects and sometimes permanent health damage to its users.
Birth control remained illegal in many states until the 1960s. Two Supreme Court cases changed that:
- In 1965, the landmark case Griswold v. Connecticut recognized a married coupleās right to privacy, so it became unconstitutional to ban contraceptive use for married couples.
- In 1972, this ruling was extended in Eisenstadt v. Baird, granting single people that same right to privacy.
In 1969, journalist Barbara Seaman published an expose on the pill’s side effects and the doctors’ failure to provide information to patients to make sure women were informed. This publication was titled, “The Doctor’s Case against the Pill”.
The Catholic Church Takes a Firm Stance
In 1968, the Catholic Church denounced the use of contraception and was widely discussed and debated. Pope Paul VI had concerns about the introduction of contraception for use in pre-marital & married sex, as he discussed in his encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Instead, he recommended the use of Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods, so couples could honor the woman’s body in how it works, while naturally spacing out children. Additionally, he encouraged discernment of family size and communication between husband and wife to determine the needs of their marriage & family life. The Catholic Church did not and continues to hold this belief about contraception. It has never supported and continues to not support pre-marital sex and calls unmarried persons to practice abstinence.
Hearings on the Pill
In 1970, Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson helped hearings on the pill with only male witnesses, which was disrupted by the D.C. Women’s Liberation group to allow women to speak on the issue. After the hearings and protests there were two primary results that occurred: medications being distributed were required to have an insert listing all side effects along with proper dosages AND American feminist women’s health movement started to organize to make changes to a health care system they deemed patriarchal.
Continued Controversies Today
While many articles highlight the mild effects of birth control, studies and lawsuits abound that hormonal contraception is very hard on a woman’s body and the “one-size-fits-all” hormonal concoction of the pill doesn’t treat root cause health issues. Additionally, there is much discussion about the implications contraception use has had on relationships, marriages, and family life.
