Many Women Gleeful at Old Friend's Encore

new york times ^ | 3.7.03 | KATE ZERNIKE

[freepatriot32]

For years, women have been asking, "When?"

They got their answer this week when a small New Jersey pharmaceutical company announced that it was shipping out new supplies of the Today Sponge, a popular over-the-counter method of birth-control that was discontinued in 1994.

Within a day, a Canadian Web site set up to distribute the sponges received so many hits that it crashed; the operators set up a new site to accommodate the thousands of new orders and posted a notice on the original begging for patience.

About 1,000 women who had preordered the sponges as far back as two years ago sent out e-mail messages to friends, with the news that their supplies would arrive within the week — all proof that generations after a little pill was supposed to revolutionize birth control, many women still struggle to find a reliable, low-hassle and low-embarrassment method of contraception

[egarvue]

[Paul Atreides]

No more worrying about who is "Sponge-worthy?"

[jimt]

These things were discontinued because of toxic shock syndrome. If they're left in too long they can cause really nasty effects. Because they're very comfortable it's easy to forget about them.

They're a great product, but must be used with a lot of care.

Boyfriends, watch out for this !

[GovernmentShrinker]

As I recall, it was actually technicalities in the manufacturing process resulting in FDA pulling regulatory certification for the manufacturing facility, and the company couldn't financially justify bringing the existing facility into compliance. I think they either built a new facility or sold the brand/patent to another company which did. If there were any TSS issues, I don't think those were directly related to the discontinuation (especially as other products with known TSS issues hve stayed on the market).

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Whitehall-Robins Healthcare, a unit of Wyeth, stopped making Today Sponges in 1994 after an F.D.A inspection of its plant found bacteria contaminating the water used to make the devices. The company decided it would be too expensive to upgrade the plant, but the sponge retained its F.D.A. drug approval.

[sheik yerbouty]

I suppose women must now ask: "Who is spongeworthy?"

[Arthur McGowan]

Contraception is a species of sodomy. I.e., it distorts the meaning and the effects of the marital act (it's supposed to be occurring within marriage) in precisely the same way as other acts of sodomy. And it produces the same kind of people as other kinds of sodomy: People without hope, without courage, without depth, without issue. The spread of contraception ("face-to-face sodomy") has turned our society into one vast cult of sodomy.

What is really tragi-comic is when the "straight" sodomites get up on a high horse about the "gay" sodomites. "They're corrupting and recruiting our children" scream the straight sodomites, when it is they, the straight sodomites, who are corrupting their own children with their lack of hope and courage.

[sinclair]

Is it ok to ping you now?

[ArrogantBustard]

who are corrupting their own children

What children? The whole point is to avoid them. Messy little things; they spill ice-cream on the leather seats in your Bimmer. Can't have that! Western Civilisation is aborting, contracepting, and buggering itself out of existence. Naturally, everyone involved sees fit to either ignore the problem of blame somebody else.

[Dog Gone]

Oh man, how can you justify associating with all the sodomites at this forum? I mean, nearly all of us are, by your definition, "people without hope, without courage, without depth, without issue."

[Sloth]

Smoke crack much?

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Man, you must really hate me.....I have no uterus..... what a horrible sinner I am........

[Arthur McGowan]

I never said a word that has anything whatever to do with you.