Paradox of the pill: oral contraceptives in Spain and Poland (1960s–1970s)

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.