Opinion Pieces Respond To FDA's Approval Of Wyeth's Oral Contraceptive Lybrel

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 12 Jun 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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Several newspapers recently published opinion pieces on FDA's approval of Wyeth's oral contraceptive Lybrel, which is designed to eliminate monthly menstrual periods. Lybrel contains a lower dose of synthetic hormones in a daily dose than traditional oral contraceptives and is taken 365 days a year with no placebo pills. The usual regimen for oral contraceptives is 21 active pills taken consecutively, followed by seven placebo pills.

According to Wyeth, 59% of women taking Lybrel stopped bleeding after six months, but 18% of women participating in a clinical trial dropped out because of bleeding or spotting. A European trial found that the drug prevented pregnancy in all 323 women who took it, according to Wyeth. Available medical research shows that the side effects of pills that suppress menstruation are similar to those of other birth control pills. The most significant risk of the pills is cardiovascular complications in women who smoke (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/23). Summaries of the opinions pieces appear below.

• Deborah Douglas, Chicago Sun-Times: The approval of Lybrel "could be the impetus we need to solve other female-oriented problems," Sun-Times deputy features editor Douglas writes in an opinion piece, adding, "Let's get pushy. It's time insurance companies cover birth control options like they cover ... Viagra." Douglas writes that she "jumped for joy" when FDA approved Lybrel, adding, "I personally don't understand our willingness to endure a so-called natural thing that hurts like hell" (Douglas, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/27).
  
  
• Meghan Daum, Los Angeles Times: "Is Lybrel a quick fix for something that's not broken to begin with?" Times columnist Daum writes in an opinion piece, adding, "Or is it a feminist victory, a culturally sanctioned pronouncement that menstruation ... isn't mandatory after all?" Daum writes that by "challenging the definition of normal," Lybrel "goads us ... into questioning our own normalcy" (Daum, Los Angeles Times, 5/26).
  
  
• Karen Heller, Philadelphia Inquirer: A contraceptive that suspends all periods "seems extremely ironic" and "counterintuitive to the current trend toward organic and natural in food, clothing and the environment," Inquirer columnist Heller writes in an opinion piece. According to Heller, weight gain will be "of the more annoying permanent nature"; mood "will swing all the time, or not at all"; and gone "will be that clarifying moment of revelation and relief" when a woman finds out whether she is pregnant if she forgets to take a few pills (Heller, Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/23).
  
  
• Sally Kalson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Lybrel "will raise plenty of issues related to sexual politics and the culture wars," Post-Gazette columnist Kalson writes in an opinion piece. However, social and religious questions are "one thing; safety is another," she writes, adding that FDA has the "tools of science at its disposal," and "[h]ope springs eternal that the agency is using them in the best interest of public health" (Kalson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/27).
  
  
• Jane Ridley, New York Daily News: "Pumping your body full of artificial hormones every day without interruption" does not "mak[e] sense," Daily News columnist Ridley writes in an opinion piece. According to Ridley, side effects of Lybrel include bloating and, "more seriously, an increase in blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke." She adds, "Why tempt fate by denying your body a break?" (Ridley, New York Daily News, 5/24).
  
  
• William Saletan, Washington Post: The "danger" of taking Lybrel "from a standpoint of emancipation" is that some women will not stop their cycles to "satisfy themselves; they'll do it for others," Saletan, a science and technology reporter for Slate magazine, writes in a Post opinion piece. He adds, "Pills can liberate you from old burdens but they can also impose new ones. I'm glad that women will be free to take Lybrel. I hope, in the future, that they'll also feel free not to" (Saletan, Washington Post, 5/27).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.