People & Events: Dr. John Rock (1890-1984) When Gregory Pincus
asked John Rock to collaborate with him on clinical trials for
an oral contraceptive, Rock seemed an unlikely choice. The
highly-regarded obstetrician and gynecologist was a devout Roman
Catholic and a ground-breaking infertility specialist, who
devoted much of his career to helping women with fertility
problems to conceive. In the course of his practice, Rock had
witnessed the suffering women endured from unwanted pregnancies.
He had seen collapsed wombs, premature aging, and desperation
caused by too many mouths to feed. The experiences of his
patients had a profound impact on the man. Despite his faithful
Catholicism and the church's opposition to contraceptives, Rock
came to support contraception within the confines of marriage.
Although he never went as far as to endorse birth control purely
as a woman's right, Rock believed in the power of birth control
to stem poverty and prevent medical problems associated with
pregnancy. John Rock never p