May 17, 2012 (Zenit.org) – In 1960, the combined oral
contraceptive pill was first approved for use in the United
States. Seven years later, “the Pill” was featured on the cover
of Time Magazine, illustrating its enormous societal impact.
Roughly two generations later, statistics from the United
Nations show that, within more developed nations worldwide, just
under 16% of “partnered” women use contraceptive pills, a number
which does not include usage among single women. However, even
as the popularity of oral contraceptives remains high, the drugs
themselves have been evolving in response to further discoveries
about the human reproductive system, as well as efforts to
reduce the Pill’s negative side effects. As with any major
technological or medical development, particularly one embraced
very quickly by a large sector of the population, it can take
years, and even decades, for the full range of effects to become
evident. And as demonstrated by several recent studies, many
questions remain unanswered regard