History of the Food and Drug Administration
In June 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Food and Drug Act, also known as the "Wiley Act" after its chief advocate. The Act prohibited, under penalty of seizure of goods, the interstate transport of food which had been "adulterated," with that term referring to the addition of fillers of reduced "quality or strength," coloring to conceal "damage or inferiority," formulation with additives "injurious to health," or the use of "filthy, decomposed, or putrid" substances. The act applied similar penalties to the interstate marketing of "adulterated" drugs, in which the "standard of strength, quality, or purity" of the active ingredient was not either stated clearly on the label or listed in the "United States Pharmacopoeia" or the "National Formulary". The act also banned "misbranding" of food and drugs. The responsibility for examining food and drugs for such "adulteration" or "misbranding" was given to Wiley's USDA Bureau of Chemistry.
National Women's Health Network
In its first year, the NWHN organized the first ever protest against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 1975, organizers opposed to the FDA approval and lack of oversight of synthetic estrogens such as DES and high-dose estrogens in combined oral contraceptive pills carried signs reading "Feed Estrogen to the Rats at the FDA" and "Women's Health, Not Drug Company Wealth". After the protests and the Nelson Pill Hearings, Patient Packaging Inserts (PPIs) listing side effects were instated for oral contraceptives—the first PPIs in U.S. history.
The National Women's Health Network helped found Raising Women's Voices, a national initiative that advocates affordable healthcare for everyone. Raising Women's Voices wants to ensure the national discourse on healthcare reform takes the needs of women into account. Other founding members include Mergerwatch and the Avery Institute for Social Change. Raising Women's Voices includes a list of 26 principles including:The NWHN publishes independently researched fact sheets and position papers on a variety of women's health topics including breast cancer, endometriosis, cervical cancer, fibroids, menopause and hormonal therapy, mammograms, abortion, and hysterectomy. Every publication is from an objective, feminist perspective without endorsing any specific treatment plan or method.