The pill: emblem of liberation
BMJ 2007; 334 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39051.582546.94 (Published 04 January 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;334:s15
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Ms. Adams has expressed things quite adequately. Carl Djerassi has no
right being on a list with Louis Pasteur. Perhaps you could have a vote on
"Greatest Medical Setback".
Competing interests:
This morning I attended the funeral of a woman my age who died of breast cancer.
Competing interests: No competing interests
The Pill has had many ill effects. Being 100% sexually available
without fear of pregnancy seemed the secret to a happy marriage.
Proponents of the Pill even promised less divorce. Yet 50% of new
marriages today will end in divorce, a number which has climbed since the
Pill was introduced. If the current divorce rate cannot be blamed on the
Pill, it can at least be said that the Pill has done nothing to improve
marriage (as it promised to). Now consider the divorce rate among
couples using periodic abstinence methods (natural family planning)--
studies on these couples show a divorce rate of <5%!!
Not only does the Pill fail to improve relationships, it is also
very bad for one's health. It isn't the 'instantly reversible' method
that its creator claims; I've had people coming off of the Pill come to
learn NFP(natural family planning) from me, and I can tell you their
charted cycles are way out of whack for months. You cannot 'trick' your
body with the Pill for all that time and think it doesn't have any
negative effects. Hormones are indeed powerful substances. We are very
clear on this when we tell young men not to take steroids--why do we find
it okay for our daughters to hurt themselves? I believe it is because we
put too high a value on our young women being sexually active, sterile
objects; not beautiful human beings worth waiting for.
Further negative health effects that I have heard from women who were
on the Pill: they had no sex drive; they were depressed; and they gained
weight. These side effects are acknowledged by manufacturers, though they
are listed as 'minor'. Ask yourself if depression, no sex drive and
weight gain would be minor to you! And then there is also the potential
for life threatening side effects (stroke, pulmonary embolism, heart
attack--which the manufacturer's admit-- and those which they don't admit
(increased risk of breast cancer).
A couple of other points; women are often put on the Pill for
endometriosis because it 'quiets' the pain of the migrant endometrial
tissue. But it doesn't fix the problem--laparoscopy could do that.
Endometriosis is the leading cause of infertility, but instead of treating
it, we cover it over for years, then wonder why we can't have babies when
we decide to get pregnant in our 30s.
Another interesting point; most women have decreased or absent libido
on the Pill. How does she benefit from being 100% sexually available,
without fear of pregnancy, when she has lost her sex drive?
I hope someday everyone knows the ill effects of the Pill. I know a
pharmacist, not at all a religious man, but he considers the Pill the next
Big Tobacco. One can only hope.
Competing interests:
Volunteer as Natural Family Planning (Symptothermal Method) Instructor
Competing interests: No competing interests
Estrogen and Progestin compounds such as "The Pill," ERT, and HRT
have caused more reproductive cancers, stroke, and heart disease since
their conception than any other compounds known to man. As NIH's
endocrinologist and OB-GYN doctor, Roy Hertz, said at the Nelson Hearings
regarding "The Pill" in 1970, "Estrogen is to cancer what fertilizers are
to the wheat crop." The latest report of a drastic drop in breast cancer
in 2003 after many menopausal women got off hormone attests to this fact.
"The Pill" has not done a great service in liberating women! Men
have actually been liberated as they can now ejaculated inside a women and
walk away, not thinking of pregnancy. She, on the other hand, has to fear
STD's--some of which cause death (HIV) and cervical cancer (via HPV), as
well as ovarian, breast, endometrial, and cervical cancer as well as heart
disease and stroke. Many of these women contracting theses diseases and
conditions are much younger than ever before as well!
Check out Japan's reproductive cancer rates in women, especially
breast cancer. Long ago, Japan's govt. listened to the concerned doctors
at the Nelson Hearings and restricted use of "The Pill" to only a very
small portion of their women for health reasons. Hense, Japan's rates of
reproductive cancers are the lowest in the world. America's are the
highest coinciding with the high use of "The Pill."
"The Pill" has dramatically increased and encouraged unsafe sex,
fornication, adultery, and divorce.
"The Pill" has liberated men as they are no longer responsible for
their own spern. It is our fault if we get pregnant. Women have been
given a false sense of security in "The Pill."
Stop spreading your lies! My mother has her chest carved out, thanks
to "The Pill."
Suzanne L. Adams, CT (ASCP)
Cytotechnologist
Author, The Art of Cytology with Micronutrient Discussions
www.i2k.com/~suzanne/cytology.htm
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Most Destructive - But There is a Better Way!
Consider this: Worldwide, fallout from the use of artificial
contraceptives to provide sexual pleasure divorced from its physical,
emotional and spiritual consequences is seen in staggering rates of
divorce, promiscuity, unmarried pregnancy, STDs, AIDS, pornography, child
abuse and neglect, domestic violence and more.
However, there is a simple, safe, and highly effective alternative:
Natural Family Planning.
One very powerful natural approach, the Sympto-Thermal Method, is
available through the Couple to Couple League, a non-profit organization
dedicated to teaching Natural Family Planning (NFP) to married and engaged
couples. Professionally-trained volunteers provide instruction and
counselling in Natural Family Planning including moral, religious,
psychological and scientific information.
Demographic statisics verify the physical, social and spiritual
advantages of this and other similar systems.
Individuals and families confirm the benefits of NFP in their lives.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests