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HHS Eliminates CDC Staff Who Made Sure Birth Control Is Safe for Women at Risk

For more than a decade, a small team of people at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked to do just that, issuing national guidelines for clinicians on how to prescribe contraception safely for millions of women with underlying medical conditions — including heart disease, lupus, sickle cell disease, and obesity.

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Micrograph of breast cancer cells

Breast cancer: progestogen-only and combined birth control both increase risk – here’s what you need to know

Until now, it was thought that only the combined hormonal pill carried a greater risk of breast cancer. But a recent study suggests that the progestogen-only pill (also known as the mini pill) and other forms of hormonal contraception also carry the same increase in breast cancer risk as the combined pill.

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Graph showing percentage of women of women on oral contraceptives who will become pregnant in a year

Post-‘Roe,’ Contraceptive Failures Carry Bigger Stakes

The failure rate for typical use of birth control pills is 7%. For every million women taking pills, 70,000 unplanned pregnancies could occur in a year. According to the most recent data available, more than 6.5 million women ages 15 to 49 use oral contraceptives, leading to about 460,000 unplanned pregnancies. Even seemingly minuscule failure rates of IUDs and birth control implants can lead to surprises.Even seemingly minuscule failure rates of IUDs and birth control implants can lead to surprises. Some 4.8 million women use IUDs or implants in the U.S., leading to as many as 5,000 to 20,000 unplanned pregnancies a year.

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