Vasectomy Is Young Man's Pill

Female students may no longer be able to afford the Pill

(NEWSER) - Many college students may no longer be able to afford birth control come September, thanks to a 2006 bill that discourages drug companies from offering schools deep discounts on contraceptives. The change went into effect this year, but students will feel the crunch only now, as health centers that stocked up on cheap birth control run out, the Journal reports. More»

Rule change eliminates discounts at college health centers

(NEWSER) - Female students at US colleges may be cutting back on reliable contraceptives because a quirk in a federal law has made birth-control pills up to four times more expensive, health officials warn. A recent change in Medicaid regulations means drug companies no longer offer big discounts to health centers where students and low-income women obtain the pills, the New York Times reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A new book teaches teenage girls how to determine when they are (and are not) most likely to become pregnant, but some adults are sure they want girls to have the information. Cycle Savvy,The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body by Toni Weschler, shows teens how to chart fertility over their monthly cycles. More»

This is not just a women's issue: Glenn W. Smith and James Moore

(NEWSER) - Women may be the people who actually take birth control pills, but men benefit from the practice just the same. The pill "has made our sex lives a lot simpler, and let's admit it, a hell of a lot more enjoyable," write Glenn W. Smith and James Moore. So why aren't men—who "are involved in 100% of all pregnancies"—more involved in the pro-contraception fight? It's time for the males of the world to "accept their responsibility, biologically, morally, and politically, to play a substantial role in the health of their partners," Smith and Moore write on the Huffington Post . More»

The pill is as safe as everything else in the drug store: Virginia Postrel

(NEWSER) - The controversy over oral contraceptives raises one obvious question: Why the heck aren't they available over the counter? "True, making the pill available over the counter could reduce the amount of outrage and invective available for entertaining radio audiences," Virginia Postrel of Bloomberg quips. "But the medical risks are quite low." Birth control pills are safe, effective, and require no medical diagnosis. Women are perfectly capable of deciding for themselves if they want them. More»