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Johnson & Johnson has paid at least $68.7 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits related to its Ortho Evra birth-control patch, which has been linked to harmful blood clots. The patch exposes women to higher doses of estrogen than ordinary contraceptive pills. Some studies have suggested that increased exposure raises the risk of blood clots, which can lead to strokes or heart attacks. J&J says the patch is safe if used according to its Food and Drug Administration-approved label. According to the wire service: Of 562 complaints reviewed by Bloomberg News, the vast majority of users alleged the patch caused...

The Bush administration proposed new rules today that critics say would make it more difficult for women to obtain abortions, and for men and women to obtain contraceptives. After more than a month of internal -- and eventually public -- debate, the administration unveiled regulations that, if enacted, would provide stronger protections for doctors and other healthcare providers to refuse to perform medical procedures -- or, possibly, sell contraceptives -- if such steps violate their religious beliefs. Jill Morrison, the senior counsel of the National Women's Law Center, told Countdown to Crawford when we reported on the draft regulation in...

Birth-control pills could screw up a woman's ability to sniff out a compatible mate, a new study finds. While several factors can send a woman swooning, including big brains and brawn, body odor can be critical in the final decision, the researchers say. That's because beneath a woman's flowery fragrance or a guy's musk the body sends out aromatic molecules that indicate genetic compatibility.

Kay Pharmacy in Grand Rapids, Mich., looks like any other pharmacy. But ... some things are not for sale: condoms and other forms of birth control. Owner Mike Koelzer sent a letter to his customers in 2002, advising them that he would no longer be filling prescriptions for contraceptives. "I was and am willing to lose the business in order to not be a part of something I don't agree with. ...While the number of pharmacies that refuse to sell contraceptives remains relatively small... Brian Bundy is one of those pharmacists. That's why he was fired from a pharmacy in...

Professor James Trussell, a well recognized expert on contraceptives, told attendees of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service conference "The Pill is an outdated method because it does not work well enough. It is very difficult for ordinary women to take a pill every single day..." Though he did not intend to, his statement in some ways vindicates those who argue that the net impact of the pill has been an increase in unwanted pregnancies and abortion. The push to use multiple methods of contraception, along with Trussell's statement, is in part an admission that, at the population level, contraceptive programs...

A Challenging Truth, Part Two: The Day the Birth Control Died February 12, 2008 "Everyone does it, so what's the big deal?" Taking the pill, getting "fixed", getting a shot of Depo-Provera...there's a myriad of choices for contraception. The expectation in today's modern society is that everyone uses artificial birth control at some point in their lives, be they married or not. Right? Many years ago, I would have agreed with all of the above. I was not a rebellious Catholic, just an ignorant one. But the guilt of my ignorance rests on more shoulders than just mine. I was...

Canberra, Australia (LifeNews.com) -- A British-based abortion business that operates abortion centers internationally admitted on Tuesday that women in Australia are getting pregnant and having abortions despite the use of birth control. Abortion advocates have long claimed that the advocating contraception is better than abortion limits in reducing abortion figures. However, Marie Stopes International released a report Tuesday showing that more than half of women who have an unplanned pregnancy were using birth control at the time. Some 43 percent were on oral contraceptives when the pregnancy occurred and another 27 percent reportedly used a condom at the time. MSI...

CNSNews.com) - A conservative civil liberties group said it will proceed with a lawsuit against the Portland, Maine, School Committee for refusing the reconsider its policy on prescription contraceptives for middle school students as young as 11. "This is an issue where the rights of parents must be protected," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which specializes in constitutional law. "This is not only bad public policy but a violation of state law that simply cannot be ignored. There is tremendous outrage and disgust over the Committee's usurpation of parental responsibility to...

CHICAGO (AFP) - Women who use oral contraceptives are at increased risk for developing hardened arteries, a condition that can lead to heart attack or stroke, according to a study released Tuesday Belgian researchers found that women who had used the hormones were more likely to have plaques, or a buildup of fatty tissue, on their arteries than women who didn't use this form of birth control. Atherosclerosis, or furring of the arteries, typically occurs with age. Complications include heart attack or stroke, which occur when unstable pieces of plaque break off and block a blood vessel leading to the...

Students who have parental permission to be treated at King Middle School's health center would be able to get birth control prescriptions under a proposal that the Portland School Committee will consider Wednesday. The proposal would build on the King Student Health Center's practice of providing condoms as part of its reproductive health program since it opened in 2000, said Lisa Belanger, a nurse practitioner who oversees the city's student health centers. If the committee approves the King proposal, it would be the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to some students in...

UNICEF Among Sponsors of New Campaign Promoting Abortion US, Canadian government development agencies among participants in campaign By Samantha Singson NEW YORK, October 4, 2007 (C-FAM.org) - A new global initiative was launched by various UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in New York last week that includes a call for legal abortion. Among the sponsors of the initiative called "Deliver Now for Women and Children" is the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), a UN agency that persistently denies they support abortion in any way, shape, or form.  Marketed as a campaign to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)...

From The Times September 12, 2007 Taking the Pill cuts the risk of cancer Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor Pill plus HRT may bring cancer risk | Decade of Pill use doubles risk of cervical cancer Taking the Pill reduces the risks of a woman getting cancer later in life, according to one of the largest studies ever undertaken. The conclusion will reassure millions of women who took the Pill 30 or 40 years ago and are now of an age when the risks are growing. The study found that overall cancer risk was up to 12 per cent lower...

BRITAIN, September 13, 2007, (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new study conducted by individuals at the University of Aberdeen and recently published in the British Medical Journal claims to reassure women that taking oral contraceptives will, in fact, reduce their risk of getting cancer.  News services throughout the world are touting the 'medical breakthrough' that supposedly shows that "the cancer benefits of oral contraception outweigh the risks." In reality, the true facts of the study portray a very different result for the millions of women worldwide who use oral birth control.  According to the TimesOnline, the British study reportedly found that,...

Environemental Organizations Generate Green Guilt to Push More Population Control Want everyone to become "eunuchs for the green kingdom" by Colin Mason Front Royal, Virginia, August 27, 2007 (pop.org) - If asked what function the San Francisco-based Sierra Club performs, most of its 1.3 million members would probably reply "protecting the environment," or "raising awareness of endangered species," or words to that effect. Yet, in their 2007 legislative report for Minnesota, the Sierra Club spent nearly 3 pages describing legislative initiatives that have virtually nothing to do with the environment. Rather, this section deals almost exclusively with population issues or,...

Guatemala Bishops Reject "Post-Abortion Care" Plan as Doorway to Abortion Ministry initiative would train medical personnel to use suction machines on women in "post-abortion situation" By Elizabeth O'Brien GUATEMALA CITY, August 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Yesterday the Bishops Conference of Guatemala rejected a "post-abortion care" initiative by the Ministry of Health, pointing out that it would provide a direct opening towards abortion and other abuses of women, CatholicNewsAgency reports. In a document criticizing the World Health Organization's anti-life policies, the bishops also warned against the Ministry's "care" campaign, saying, "Our Constitution protects human life from the moment of conception." They...

UN to Award Global PR Firm for Indian Population Control Condom Campaign Program was joint project of USAID and health ministry of Indian governmen By Hilary White NEW DELHI, August 22, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The United Nations has offered its "Grand Award" for achievement in public relations to a US-funded campaign to boost condom sales in India. The campaign, called "Condom Bindaas Bol" (Say Condom Freely), was a joint project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the health ministry of the Indian government. The campaign was meant to convince Indians that the word "condom" was not...

Kiss federally subsidized collegiate promiscuity goodbye. Prices for birth control are going to increase a lot for college students. That has CNN deeply concerned. Higher prices for birth control? Oh, the humanity.That’s because deficit reduction legislation has changed how much the federal government pays to underwrite contraceptives. Costs for the pill and patch have gone up enough, apparently, for college students to consider anything except abstinence. “[Stephanie] Davidson [a Columbia University student] worries that these students will have to choose between food, books, and birth control,” said CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on the August 22 “American Morning.”The report was...

DUBLIN, August 17, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Irish woman has died of a blood clot after taking the birth control pill for several years. Her family and an investigating doctor have publicly attributed her death to the use of the contraceptive.On March 22 of last year, 31-year-old Julie Hennessy was found dead on the floor of her living room, Ireland Independent reports. Although she was a non-smoker of healthy weight, the woman had been taking the drug Mercilon for a number of years. This resulted in her developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a condition in which a blood clot...

House Democrats narrowly passed a measure yesterday to provide contraceptives to overseas organizations that had been banned from receiving foreign aid because they provided or promoted abortion. The amendment to an important antiabortion measure in the House foreign aid spending bill was a rebuke to President Bush, who has strictly opposed providing any assistance to groups that promote abortion. The Reagan-era measure, known as the Mexico City policy, was fiercely protected by Bush, who has issued two veto threats over the foreign aid bill should Democrats attempt to alter any of the antiabortion measures it contains.

WASHINGTON - The House will cast a landmark vote Thursday when it decides whether to reverse U.S. policy and provide contraceptive grants to groups overseas that also provide abortions. The legislation states the U.S. cannot deny assistance to any group so long as it includes funding for contraceptives. President Bush has threatened to veto the measure, and Republicans say they have enough support to uphold the veto. In the face of stiff opposition to the plan, Democrats drafted an amendment that would restrict the aid to U.S.-donated contraceptives. The bill would help "reduce unintended and high-risk pregnancies, and abortions ....

In reference to your May 23, 2007 article [1] regarding the new contraceptive pill "Lybrel," we continue to be amazed at the never-ending enslaving of women by making them choose a variety of birth control pills which are variations of the same deadly steroid chemicals!   As that well-known pamphlet from the Breast Cancer Institute states: "If it is not okay for him [athletes] to take steroids, why is it okay for her," referring to women 18-49?    Why can't the media and the medical profession be more responsible in warning women that birth control pills, the patches, or injections such...

- Would this world benefit from more Viking offspring? The article: "Women in Sweden have become less "inclined to use contraceptives. Sales of the morning-after pill have been on the increase, as have the number of abortions, while fewer women are using the contraceptive pill to prevent unwanted pregnancies, Sveriges Radio reports. Apoteket, Sweden's state-owned pharmaceutical retailer, noted an 11 percent increase in sales of morning-after pills in 2006 compared to the previous year. The number of abortions was up one and a half percent on figures for 2005, while the number of women using the contraceptive pill is reported...

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Scientists hope to test a contraceptive dart next year as a new weapon to curb a koala population explosion that has destroyed thousands of trees on an Australian island, a researcher said Sunday. Without predators such as dogs, life on Kangaroo Island off South Australia state has proved too idyllic for the teddy bear-like marsupials' own good. The tastiest species of eucalyptus on the island are groaning under the weight of an estimated 28,000 koalas that are chomping themselves out of habitat at a rate of almost one pound of leaves each day during the few...

An Open Letter to Melinda Gates For many years the world has paid close attention to the foundation that bears your name. No one faults you or your husband for funding excellent programs to keep kids in school and assisting with the advancement of healthcare for the Third World, but the real concern of people of faith has been how the Gateses will use their money when it comes to fighting AIDS, something your husband has called "Public Enemy #1." If there had been any doubt about it up to this point, your recent address to the 16 th World...

[The rhythm method and embryonic death J Med Ethics 2006; 32: 355-6]The “rhythm method” may kill off more embryos than other contraceptive methods, such as coils, morning after pills, and oral contraceptives, suggests an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics.The method relies on abstinence during the most fertile period of a woman’s menstrual cycle. For a woman who has regular 28 day cycles, this is around days 10 to 17 of the cycle.It is the only method of birth control condoned by the Catholic Church, because it doesn’t interfere with conception, so allowing nature to take its course. It...

Condom boxes were installed in freshman dorms Greenough, Canaday, and Weld laundry rooms last Thursday, the climax of two and a half months of planning, involving the Undergraduate Council (UC), Community Health Initiative (CHI), and the Freshman Dean’s Office. This is the first time these little black boxes, which have been enjoyed by upperclassmen for years, will dispense free condoms to students in freshman dormitories. Previously, first-years were able only to obtain free condoms from peer counseling groups Room 13 and Contact, which have offices in the Yard, condom boxes in the upperclassmen Houses, or from University Health Services (UHS)....

Website Exposes Dangers of Contraception to Marriage and Society NEW YORK CITY, Feb. 27 /Christian Wire Service/ -- A national campaign to expose the negative aspects of contraception launched today. The web-based campaign, originating out of New York, is called "No Room for Contraception." Issues surrounding so-called emergency contraception have brought the issue of birth control to the political forefront. In order to contribute to this ongoing debate, the No Room for Contraception team has launched a website to point out the often under-exposed negative effects of widespread contraception use. "For decades, very few people of reproductive age were aware...

BARRON, WI (AP) - A judge has upheld sanctions against a pharmacist who refused to dispense birth control pills to a college student and wouldn't transfer her prescription elsewhere. Barron County Circuit Judge James Babler affirmed the punishment the state Pharmacy Examining Board handed down against pharmacist Neil Noesen. The board ruled last April that Noesen failed to carry out his responsibility to get the prescription to someone else if he wouldn't fill it himself. The board reprimanded Noesen, of St. Paul, Minn., and ordered him to attend ethics classes. He will get to keep his license if he informs...

If President Bush gets his way, the Supreme Court will vacate Roe v. Wade even before Bush vacates the White House. With the expected confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito --- and depending on the vote of the moderately conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy --- the right to a legal abortion could be struck down, leaving states to decide whether to keep abortion legal. Two years ago, the Center for Reproductive Rights estimated that 30 states would declare abortions illegal within a year of a high court decision overturning Roe. That makes it all the more important that progressives unite in a...

Libido Problems Linked to the Pill May Be Long-Term By Kathleen DohenyHealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Women who take birth control pills might be at increased risk for a long-term loss of sexual desire, according to new research from a team at the Lahey Clinic in Boston. "We have known for a long time that 30 to 40 percent of women on birth control pills have decreased libido," said study co-author Dr. Andre Guay, director of the Center for Sexual Function/Endocrinology at the clinic. But his findings, published in the January issue of The Journal of Sexual...

AP NATIONAL WRITER The makers of a popular birth-control patch warned millions of women Thursday that the patch exposes them to significantly higher doses of hormones and may put them at greater risk for blood clots and other serious side effects than previously disclosed. The warning from Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Ortho McNeil, makers of Ortho Evra, says women using the patch will be exposed to about 60 percent more estrogen than those using typical birth-control pills because hormones from patches get into the bloodstream and are removed from the body differently than those from pills. Thursday's warning comes four...

American Girl (owned by Mattel) is partnering with a group called Girls Inc. to sell a bracelet, the "I Can" band, which financially supports Girls Inc. Seventy cents of every purchase goes to Girls Inc. The band is sold on the American Girl webpage with a large ad and a link to the Girls Inc. webpage. In addition, the webpage says American Girl is giving $50,000 to Girls, Inc...

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/12543504.htm Fri, Sep. 02, 2005 Suit: Birth control to blame for brain clot BY CARY LEIDER VOGRIN The Gazette COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - (KRT) - Not long after Amanda Bianchi began using a birth-control patch, she started getting incapacitating headaches, numbness in her hands and ringing in her ears. An MRI revealed a 6- to 8-inch blood clot in her brain. In July, the Colorado Springs woman and nine others from across the nation filed suit against the maker of Ortho Evra, claiming they suffered "substantial physical injuries" from using the contraceptive patch. The suit claims the patch is "unreasonably...

CHICAGO — An Illinois pharmacist says he's being pressured by the state to sell a certain kind of oral contraceptive despite his objection to it for moral reasons. A new rule in Illinois — the first of its kind in the United States — tells pharmacists that if they're in the business of selling contraceptives, they must fill all contraceptive prescriptions, including those for so-called "morning-after" birth-control pills.

AUSTRALIAN medical experts have urged women not to abandon oral contraception or hormone replacement therapy despite a World Health Organisation decision to classify them as cancer causing. The WHO's leading cancer research body - the International Agency for Research on Cancer - has changed its classification for combined oestrogen-progestogen oral contraceptives and combined oestrogen-progestogen HRT drugs from "possibly carcinogenic to humans" to "carcinogenic to humans". The decision puts the widely used compounds in the same category as the cancer-causing agents asbestos and tobacco...

"People think I have the hardest job in the world to sell chastity to high school kids," says 29-year-old chastity speaker Jason Evert of Spring Valley. "But it's like giving out free steaks to hungry dogs. All they want is someone to give them permission to take care of themselves." Part of what got Evert into the chastity apostolate was when he started leading high school retreats. "When you do the small groups, you realize how much of sexuality is a huge problem and how they have such little guidance." During that time he also did several years of...

What rights do parents have over their children? The issue has come front and center in one Northern California school district, which has begun dispensing birth control to students without the consent of parents. The Elsie Allen High School clinic was granted the “okay” to proceed prescribing and distributing contraceptives -- at little to no cost – to students within the entire Santa Rosa City School District. According to the California Teen Health website, children as young as fourteen, now have unlimited access to condoms, birth control patches, oral and intravenous contraceptives, and even the “morning after pill.” Only Birth...

CAMBRIDGE, June 7, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A team of Cambridge University researchers has discovered a protein that controls the action of an embryo when it is implanting in the uterine lining. The molecule, called STAT3, has been shown to play a key role in creating the chemical signals for the cells of the uterus to accept the implantation of the embryo. This discovery could be significant in treating infertility since in many cases the difficulty lies not in the sperm penetrating the ovum, but in the embryo implanting successfully in the uterine wall. The medical establishment, however, is exploiting this...

Contraceptive may kill libido By Julie Wheldon May 27, 2005 From: TAKING the Pill for as little as six months could destroy a woman's sex drive for ever, say scientists. The oral contraceptive dramatically reduces the levels of a hormone responsible for desire and simply stopping taking it fails to reverse the effect, it is feared. A survey produced such dramatic results that lead researcher Dr Irwin Goldstein advised any woman on the Pill who has sexual problems to stop taking it and try another method of birth control. "There is a possibility it is imprinting a woman for the...

"Rape, racism, sexism, and capitalism have been consistent elements in a long history of documented assaults against the reproductive sovereignty of Black women." [1] -Theryn Kigvamasud’ Vashti, Communities Against Rape and Abuse As anarcha-feminists, when we think of "reproductive rights" we usually first think of a woman's right to choose when/where/how she has children in terms of her access to free, safe abortions and multiple birth control technologies. We might think of Emma Goldman standing on a soapbox risking arrest to talk to women about condoms, or of our sisters currently standing on the front lines doing clinic defense actions....

...on condoms, that is.Thoraya Obaid, director of the United Nations Population Fund, told Reuters on the sidelines of an aid conference:"There has been a beginning of an opening, especially on HIV/AIDS and the use of condoms for prevention of infection," . "We are hoping the new pope will take this message further, because it makes no sense sending people to their death." "We hope that all positions would focus on what is really needed to fight ... HIV and take the morally correct decision on how to do that," Obaid said.Commentary. Well well well. What is this "sending people to...

ASHINGTON, March 17 - Senate Democrats on Thursday questioned Dr. Lester M. Crawford, President Bush's choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, about why the agency had so far refused to allow over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill Plan B. "What has disturbed many of us is what appears is political interference in a scientific process," said Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York. "We rely on the F.D.A. for everything we take, and I am hopeful that we will reverse what appears to be a dangerous slide into political opinion as opposed to scientific evidence." Senators Edward...

VANCOUVER (CP) -- A private American company hopes to revolutionize birth control by launching the world's first implantable male contraceptive. Dr. Neil Pollock, co-founder of Shepherd Medical Company, told a news conference Monday that the Intra Vas Device, or IVD, is less invasive than a vasectomy but just as effective. "We feel that we have the potential to make a huge impact on the future of contraception in the world," said Pollock, co-founder of the company, as he showed off the 2.5-centimetre hollow silicone plug. Men have limited options when it comes to contraception and the IVD would shift the...

Oral contraceptives do not cut heart risks, says government Federal officials Wednesday backed away from the findings of two major studies on birth control pills, saying the research was flawed and that a new analysis shows there is no evidence that oral contraceptives cut the risk of heart disease. The studies, presented at a medical meeting in October, created a stir because they were from the Women’s Health Initiative, the nation’s largest women’s health study, and found that women on the pill had lower risks of heart disease and no increased risk of breast cancer. That was contrary to what...

While Bing Crosby dreams of a white Christmas and Elvis Presley sings of a lonely blue Christmas, Planned Parenthood is wishing the world a bubblegum pink one. There’ll be no peace on earth as far as the same group that offers teenaged girls easy access to birth control "without the consent or knowledge of your parents" is concerned. The greeting on the official 2004 Planned Parenthood Christmas Card is one wishing recipients "Choice on Earth". There are no nativity scenes depicted or angels flying anywhere on the Planned Parenthood Christmas card. On the card’s outside, directly above its Yuletide pro-abortion...

DAVAO CITY — Over 300 Muslim religious leaders from all over the country announced on Wednesday the official Islamic canonical decision (fatwah) on reproductive health and family planning. The new fatwah allows the use of both natural and artificial contraceptive methods, except for tubal ligation and vasectomy. "The assembly finds reproductive health and family planning program, as practiced under valid reasons and recognized ancestries, are in accordance with the teachings of Islam," the fatwah stated. However, it stressed that family planning for the Muslim community in the Philippines should be anchored on the principles of non-coercion, responsible parenthood, and informed...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro dropped a pioneering plan to mail contraceptives to women in poor neighborhoods for free on Wednesday after the mayor consulted the Roman Catholic archbishop. The city's health secretary, who had come up with the idea, said the health service would still give contraceptives and other medicines to needy people at its stations. The mailing program would have started next month but after speaking with the Archbishop of Rio, Cardinal Eusebio Scheid, Mayor Cesar Maia published a decree limiting the mail distribution to patients with chronic illnesses. "It...

The Morning After 1/22/04 It happens every time you open a bottle of cough syrup: a very long piece of paper folded dozens of times and covered with very small words flutters to the ground. It lists all the dosages, side effects, contraindications, and problems associated with the drug you are about to consume. Have you ever wondered how that little piece of paper came to be there? In This Article... The Women are DisposableThe Poor are DisposableNow Teenagers are Disposable, Too The Women are Disposable Dozens of years ago, back in 1960, a radical feminist, a supporter of...

The Pill From Hell 12/17/2003 7:29:00 PM By Barbara Kralis - CCI News Today, December 16, 2003, is an important day in the United States. After listening to numerous pro life doctors, bioethicists and leaders warn of the dangers of allowing the abortifacient pill "Plan B" to be sold over the counter, the U.S. advisory panel to the FDA voted to recommend allowing the "morning after" contraceptive pill to be sold without a prescription. The pill is intended for use by women within 72 hours after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. It's incredulous how these US advisors for the FDA...

SAN FRANCISCO — If you don't believe in the law, do you have to follow it? That's the question before courts in New York and California, which are being asked to exempt branches of the Catholic Church from state laws requiring that contraceptives be included in employee prescription-drug plans. Under church doctrine, contraception is a sin. "The Catholic Church explicitly teaches that artificial contraception is morally unacceptable and, if knowingly and freely engaged in, sinful," Catholic Charities of Sacramento attorney James Sweeney said. After California's law was enacted in 2000, the group unsuccessfully sought a ruling to bar the law...