In May 1960, the FDA approved the sale of a pill that arguably would have a greater impact on American culture than any other drug in the nation's history.
Browse samples of Pill package design in this gallery, featuring historical images from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Is it safe? How do prescriptions differ? Will there be a male pill? Read this Q&A with obstetrician/gynecologist Daniela Carusi, M.D.
Could there be complications from past Pill use? What about hormone replacement therapy?
When Enovid officially came on the market in 1960 as a contraceptive, the response was astonishing. In less than two years, 1.2 million women were on the Pill.
Early on, women taking the original 10-milligram high-dose pill suffered from a wide variety of side effects.
As female sexuality and premarital sex moved out of the shadows, the Pill became a convenient scapegoat for the sexual revolution among social conservatives.
After reading Seaman's book, The Doctor's Case Against the Pill, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson decided to take on the birth control pill.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle is thought to be the first person to propose using natural chemicals such as cedar oil, lead ointment, or frankincense oil as spermicides.
In the early 1950s, the last thing Searle wanted to get involved in was the controversial area of birth control.
In the papal encyclical entitled Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI ended the speculation over oral contraceptives and birth control once and for all.
As the 1960s progressed, the women's liberation movement gained momentum alongside the civil rights and anti-war movements.
Patients participating in drug trials must be fully informed of any potential risks before receiving any treatment.
Senate hearing on the Pill held in 1970 led to an examination of the relationship between doctors and patients.
The pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle filed an application to license their drug Enovid for use as an oral contraceptive.
In the summer of 1955, Gregory Pincus visited Puerto Rico, and discovered it would be the perfect location for the human trials.
John Rock was an unlikely choice to help develop an oral contraception; the obstetrician and gynecologist was a devout Roman Catholic.
On New Year's Eve 1930, the Roman Catholic Church officially banned any artificial means of birth control.
Gregory Pincus found a way to test the contraceptive powers of progesterone and sidestep Massachusetts' rigid anti-birth control laws.
Sterilization abuse of African American women by the white medical establishment reached its height in the 1950s and 1960s.