@
Dr Gregory Pincus 
revolutionized 
the sex lives of 
millions with the 
contraceptive
pill. For the first
time in history,
the causal link
between sex and
child-bearing
was severed, and
for better or
worse, the sense
of responibility
that goes with
the risk of preg-
nancy was gone
#
Pincus' life
was changed
by a meeting
in 1951 with
birth control 
campaigner 
Margaret Sanger. 
She convinced 
him of the 
dangers of the 
population 
explosion and of 
the effects of 
uncontrolled 
fertility on 
women's lives. 
Soon after, 
Pincus began 
working on a 
contraceptive pill
#
By freeing women
from the fear of 
pregnancy, the 
Pill helped bring 
about new sexual 
freedoms. It was
as much a defining
element of the
cultural revolution
of the Sixties as
the music of the
Beatles or the
fashions of
Carnaby Street
#
The Pill played
an enormous part 
in creating the
"permissive 
society". By
the Seventies
it was clear that
Western society
had undergone a 
fundamental 
change in matters 
of sexual morality.
For some this was
a civilizing step
forward; to others
it looked like an
age of wanton
debauchery was
about to descend
#
The fiercest
critic of the Pill
was the Roman
Catholic Church.
In 1968 the Pope
reaffirmed the
Church's ban on
the Pill. The 
Church argued
that the use of
contraceptives 
is morally wrong
because it inter-
fered with God's
ordained plan
for the procreation
of the human race
#
Medical fears 
followed on the
heels of moral
concerns about
the Pill. Reports 
identified a link 
between oral 
contraceptives 
and abnormal 
blood clotting. 
Women on the 
Pill, researchers 
warned, were at 
increased risk of 
death from 
illnesses such as
thrombosis and
breast cancer
#
Opinion remains
divided about the 
benefits of Dr. 
Pincus' Pill. 
Concern about
the medical
effects of the
Pill have lingered, 
while the rise of 
AIDS has led to 
a more widespread
use of other 
methods of contra-
ceptive as more
people changed to 
using condoms. 
Either way, the 
Pill has touched 
the lives of millions
of people
@