Love, Sex, Freedom and the Paradox of the Pill: A Brief History of Birth Control

The birth control pill has been called the most important scientific advance of the 20th century. It has been credited, and blamed, with unleashing the sexual revolution, transforming gender roles, redefining marriage and reinventing the modern family. So it's all the more remarkable that something so potent is so misunderstood. This book traces the invention of the Pill half a century ago by its unlikely pioneers from the early feminists looking for a way to free women from the fears of frequent childbirth to a prominent Catholic doctor who was seeking a treatment for infertility and instead found a guarantee of it. It traces the social upheavals that coincided with the Pill's arrival and asks which ones it actually caused. It follows the unfolding attitudes of women toward the first form of contraception that they could totally control--and the backlash in recent years among social conservatives who once welcomed the pill as a blessing and now challenge it as a threat. And it explores the social, political and philosophical issues that men and women face when considering the most private questions of family life.