21 Nov 2014

The origins of the birth control pill

From Nine To Noon, 10:10 am on 21 November 2014

The Pill

The development of the oral contraceptive pill in the 1950s was a massive development scientifically, with an equally significant social and cultural impact. For the first time, sex for pleasure was separated from sex for procreation, giving women the power to control their own bodies.

Author and former Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Eig has written a book called The Birth of the Pill: How Four Pioneers Reinvented Sex and Launched Revolution. He talks to Kathryn Ryan about the four pioneers behind it: a feminist, a scientist, a moneyed philanthropist and a Catholic doctor who came together with a shared vision.

Photograph by Ceridwen. CC-BY-SA-2.0-fr