THE PILL ON TRIAL

by Paul Vaughan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 1970

After all the heated, voluminous material that has already appeared on the pill, it may be difficult to reactivate consumer interest although Mr. Vaughan's book provides all that is now known and perhaps more than you would like to know about it. It is a work of considerable investigation, level in tone and guarded in judgment. Even though one enthusiastic dispenser claimed ""This has got aspirin beaten to a frazzle,"" Vaughan leaves you with the cautionary reminder that like smoking, you can ""ignore a long-term danger while (enjoying) a short-term reward."" Here, in some detail, is the history of the pill's development (with Gregory Pincus as the prime mover); the trial demonstrations; the complications of evaluating reactions while more than 100 brand names were launched: the 1968 Boston workshop conference leading to a ""high index of suspicion"" re the side effects (cancer, thrombo-embolism, etc. etc.); the conjectural effects on morality and the backlash of VD as well as the protest of the Church; and finally a discussion of other forms of contraception, particularly the cheaper and more convenient IUD. Except for an occasional unsettling statistic (20 million users here, 18 million there) the book offers considerable cautious inquiry.

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward-McCann

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION