ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the meaning and implications of the word 'care' in the context of the debate concerning the injectable contraceptive, Depo-Provera. It considers the debate as it developed in the USA over the 25 years between 1967 and 1992, focusing on the way the discussions about 'care/ethical' issues surrounding Depo-Provera in the USA developed during this time, and the relationship of the different issues to wider political-economic and cultural changes. The 'constructed history' has it that Depo-Provera was developed and first marketed by the Upjohn pharmaceutical company as a treatment for inoperable cancer of the endometrium and endometriosis in 1960. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened further meetings of its advisory committees, including the Obstetrics and Gynecology Committee, which ascertained that no link between Depo-Provera and cervical cancer could be proved. The FDA's 'care as caution' approach attempts to evaluate Depo-Provera from a 'scientific' perspective, in terms of'risks' and 'benefits'.
