Scientist considered father of birth control pill dies

[Lite Beer]

Scientist considered father of birth control pill dies

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Carl Djerassi, the chemist widely considered the father of the birth control pill, has died.

Djerrasi died of complications of cancer in his San Francisco home, Stanford University spokesman Dan Stober said. He was 91.

Djerassi, a professor emeritus of chemistry at Stanford, was most famous for leading a research team in Mexico City that in 1951 developed norethindrone, a synthetic molecule that became a key component of the first birth control pill.

"The pill," as it came to be known, radically transformed sexual practices and women's lives.

In his book, "This Man's Pill," Djerassi said the invention also changed his life, making him more interested in how science affects society.

In 1969, he submitted a public policy article about the global implications of U.S. contraceptive research, according to the Stanford News Service. In 1970, he published another article about the feasibility of a birth control pill for men.

"The thoughts behind these two public policy articles had convinced me that politics, rather than science, would play the dominant role in shaping the future of human birth control," he wrote.

He is survived by a son, Dale Djerassi; a stepdaughter, Leah Middlebrook; and a grandson, Alexander M. Djerassi.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-01

[Scott]

The world is a vastly different place because of his discovery.

RIP.

[micmichd]

Shed a tear for a great scientist and a great contribution to human society.

RIP.

[maidee]

lets face it

how many of you readers here know how the pill works ?

you might be totally wrong

the pill makes the woman body believe it is PREGNANT all the time

you think that is healthy ?

[sdanielmcev]

Okay now this is real irony. (For those that use the term loosely.) Being called the father of something that prevents fatherhood.

[Credo]

lets face it

how many of you readers here know how the pill works ?

you might be totally wrong

the pill makes the woman body believe it is PREGNANT all the time

you think that is healthy ?

It's probably healthier than actually being pregnant all the time.

[micmichd]

lets face it

how many of you readers here know how the pill works ?

you might be totally wrong

the pill makes the woman body believe it is PREGNANT all the time

you think that is healthy ?

[micmichd]

I know how "the pill" works, and why it turned out to become a hormone disaster to many women. Ob the other side, many girls considered it a disaster when they stayed in Heidelberg for a weekend and forgotten to take "their pill". Weighing the risk of pregnancy and abortion against the risk of a simulated pregnancy is not always easy, just saying.

After "the pill" there were other contraceptual methods for women, but those methods were not safe, or a real menace to health, or both. The method of "poisoning sperm" with chemicals in a spiral was ridiculous, my gf got pregnant two times, and the second time they had to cut off a dead fetus. Not funny at all.

Then came AIDS, and I guess the rest is already known.

Tye safest method is probably vasectomy for men, but that obviously caused other problems. And vasectomy would certainly not solve the risk of STD, you need a -reliably- steady partnership or condoms for that.

The invention of a contraceptive pill was still a great contribution imho, though. It might lead to further corrections and maybe a paradigmatic change in birth control, but that doesn't make it worthless, does it?