@misc{10481/87544,
year = {2018},
month = {5},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/87544},
abstract = {is chapter analyzes the early circulation of oral contraceptives in Spain and
Poland (1960s–1980s) using comparative historiographic methodology and a variety
of sources, including: archival documents, medical literature, daily press,
women’s and Catholic magazines, legal sources and opinion polls.
In Spain, where the sale and advertisement of all contraceptive methods were
illegal between 1941 and 1978, the pill began to circulate in the early 1960s and
was officially introduced as a prescription drug for the treatment of a variety
of gynecological problems. Despite the legal ban on disseminating information
about contraception, the pill was widely discussed in both the medical and general
press, the ongoing discussions being stimulated by contemporary debates about the
pill within the Catholic Church. Demand for the pill grew dramatically during
the first two decades of its circulation, enhanced, among other factors, by the
successfulmedicalmarketing and advertising of anovulatory drugs by international
pharmaceutical companies operating in Spain.
In Poland, despite a lack of legal restrictions regarding contraception, the pill
circulated to a far lesser degree. While Western brands began to appear on the
Polish market in the early 1960s, the local pharmaceutical industry only started
to manufacture the first Polish pill towards the end of the decade. Easy access to
abortion since the mid-1950s meant authorities placed little emphasis on providing
women with effective contraceptive methods. Coupled with inefficient management
of pharmaceutical production and distribution on the centrally planned market,
this contributed to the limited circulation of the pill in Poland. A close examination
of Polish medical literature reveals that most Polish doctors defended the pill’s safety
if used under medical supervision.  e same argument was put forward in the
general press, which played a key role in promoting the pill and other contraceptive
methods, but also highlighted problems with access to the drug and criticized the
alleged preference of Polish women for abortion as a birth control resource.
 emain conclusion is that in Spain, the pill was one of the vectors that enhanced
the transition of values attached to reproduction and sexuality during the last years
of Franco’s regime. It also contributed to enhancing doctors’ involvement in family
planning provision and counselling. In contemporary Poland, in contrast, the pill
only played a marginal role, failing to catalyze a similar value transaction.},
title = {Paradox of the pill: oral contraceptives in Spain and Poland (1960s–1970s)},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110524499},
author = {Ignaciuk Klemba, Agata},
}