ABSTRACT
The introduction of oral contraception presented the medical profession with a new problem, in that it involves the prescription of highly potent drugs for healthy young people over prolonged periods. In some ways, the problem is comparable to that created by the use of alcohol, tobacco and marihuana, save that these substances are taken without medical prescription and the responsibility of the profession in relation to them is limited to defining their effects and suggesting how they can be controlled. The oral contraceptives, by contrast, are generally available only on prescription, and alternative methods of contraception exist, some of which are without risk, though they are less certainly effective in preventing pregnancy. When the hazards of pregnancy are slight, methods of contraception need to be extremely safe, and serious reactions give rise to concerns, even when they are very uncommon.
