Allen Memorial Library, Powell Room, ǿմý, 11000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106
This is the 2022 Annual Percy Skuy Lecture.
Kelly O’Donnell is a historian of medicine, gender, and health politics in modern America. She received her PhD from Yale University’s Program in the History of Science and Medicine. She teaches in the College of Humanities and Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and is currently an NEH Long-Term Fellow at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Her first book, The Pill Hearings: Science, Politics, and Birth Control, is under contract with Rutgers University Press.
Approved by the FDA in 1960, the new birth control pill was instantly popular with women across the country. By the mid-1960s, however, with millions of prescriptions filled, rumors of side effects ranging from headaches to blood clots grew into serious reporting in the mass media. By the end of the decade, many were calling for the government to investigate and ensure the safety of oral contraceptives. This talk examines the role of investigative journalism–particularly the career of science writer Barbara Seaman–in broader debates over the safety and suitability of “the Pill” during the 1960s and 1970s.
Registration is required. Register .
This event is sponsored by the Dittrick Medical History Center.