The New York Times reports today that we are just a month away from FDA approval for Lybrel, a birth control pill that also liberates women from monthly menstruation. Side-effects are the same as traditional birth control pills -- there's a small danger of blood clots and strokes, as well as migraines -- and so far studies have shown no adverse effects from shutting out the old "monthly visitor." Sounds great to me -- I'm no fan of goo and cramps. But some women think there's something creepy and unnatural about ceasing the flow.
Filmmaker Giovanna Chesler was so up in arms over Lybrel that she made a weird pseudo-science fiction documentary called Period: The End of Menstruation? Allegedly "neutral," the movie is clearly slanted against Lybrel and other drugs that might slow or stop the rate of menstrual periods. It assumes that Lybrel will "end" menstruation, when it's only a new method of regulating it (much like the Pill). Chesler has lots of footage of women who don't understand the function of menstruation, saying things like "but it's for cleaning us out" and other such foolishness. Way to advance the cause of making women seem like they should control their own bodies.
Recent research on menstruation actually shows it's probably more "natural" for women to have only about one period per year because of course in a "natural" state women would be pregnant or nursing most of the time and therefore not getting periods anyway. It's bizarre for our bodies to be ovulating and shedding those eggs so often. So let's get back to nature and stop having our periods!
Pill Gets Mixed Reviews [via NYT]
