The pill was developed by the American biologist, Dr Gregory Pincus, and works by suppressing ovulation in women. It now comes in over 30 different forms and is used by 3.5 million women in Britain between the ages of 16 and 49 (around a quarter of the age group).
Historians, sociologists and health professionals have hotly debated whether the pill liberated young women or made them subject to greater control. Germaine Greer, for example, has argued that it is men who have benefited from the introduction of the pill, while for women withdrawal, condoms or chastity are far more preferable. The Labour MP for Halifax in the 1960s, Shirley Summerskill, tried to ban the drug, arguing that women were being used as guinea pigs. And the radical magazine, Spare Rib, ran articles questioning its safety.
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