Birth control has always been a controversial issue in Canada, dating back to 1892. In this year, the Criminal Code of Canada labelled birth control as "obscene" as it tended to "corrupt morals" (1). If someone was accused of using birth control and could not prove that they had done so for "the public good", they could serve a 2 year jail sentence (1).
As more research in human sexuality was being done, the 1920s brought a wave of change and the law from 1892 was being questioned. At this time, only high income persons could afford the commercially-made contraceptives or the materials to make it themselves. Advocacy groups started to push for birth control that is available free to everyone, including the poor; in the 1930s, programs were set up to allow low-income women to obtain contraceptive devices like diaphragms (1).
It was after WWII that birth control became more socially acceptable and it was in 1960 that the FDA approved the first hormone pill for contraceptive use, Envoid (1,2,3). After a lengthy debate, and having the now-named Canadian Federation for Sexual Health (CFSH) created, the issue of birth control was removed from the Criminal Code of Canada in 1969 (1).
Almost 30 years after Envoid was introduced, the FDA removed it from the market due to its high estrogen content (2,3). Comparatively, Envoid had approximately 3X the amount of synthetic estrogens that are found in today's hormonal birth control pills (3). Although today's pills are much safer, and are still the favourite contraceptive method amongst Canadian women, the manufacturers of hormonal birth control still have over 1, 000 lawsuits regarding safety issues (2, 4).
This website is designed to answer any health care professional's questions regarding the most popular form of contraception in North America. It's time to be informed about hormonal contraceptives on how they work and how to mitigate side effects should your patient decide to start therapy.
This website was created to supplement the "Hormonal Contraceptives: You and Your Patient" symposium presentation in June 2013. It will be updated as new information becomes available.
As more research in human sexuality was being done, the 1920s brought a wave of change and the law from 1892 was being questioned. At this time, only high income persons could afford the commercially-made contraceptives or the materials to make it themselves. Advocacy groups started to push for birth control that is available free to everyone, including the poor; in the 1930s, programs were set up to allow low-income women to obtain contraceptive devices like diaphragms (1).
It was after WWII that birth control became more socially acceptable and it was in 1960 that the FDA approved the first hormone pill for contraceptive use, Envoid (1,2,3). After a lengthy debate, and having the now-named Canadian Federation for Sexual Health (CFSH) created, the issue of birth control was removed from the Criminal Code of Canada in 1969 (1).
Almost 30 years after Envoid was introduced, the FDA removed it from the market due to its high estrogen content (2,3). Comparatively, Envoid had approximately 3X the amount of synthetic estrogens that are found in today's hormonal birth control pills (3). Although today's pills are much safer, and are still the favourite contraceptive method amongst Canadian women, the manufacturers of hormonal birth control still have over 1, 000 lawsuits regarding safety issues (2, 4).
This website is designed to answer any health care professional's questions regarding the most popular form of contraception in North America. It's time to be informed about hormonal contraceptives on how they work and how to mitigate side effects should your patient decide to start therapy.
This website was created to supplement the "Hormonal Contraceptives: You and Your Patient" symposium presentation in June 2013. It will be updated as new information becomes available.