Oral contraceptives: The past and future

In the year 1961 I was invited to deliver the Dale Medal Lecture before the Society for Endocrinology, and I took as my subject the title: “Rime and Reason in Endocrinology.” The lecture was mainly concerned with a warning of the possible danger of the prolonged use of the progestogen‐estrogen‐type of pill. It is a common experience among gynecologists, clinicians, and general practitioners that once a woman has confidence in a method of contraception she will adhere to it for the whole of her active sexual life. This could mean that a woman might remain under the influence of this type of pill for 35 to 40 years. It would seem extremely unlikely to me, thinking as a biologist, that one could submit the delicately balanced hormone system of a woman to this violent alteration for 40 years without something serious happening. I should like to summarize very briefly this lecture and then look at the problem in the light of nearly the 9 years that have elapsed since I gave the lecture.