birth control pill harmful?
@chantalgiardina (2523)
United States
January 4, 2009 5:03pm CST
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published a report Saturday claiming that the contraceptive pill has negative effects on male fertility and the environment.
According to AFP, the Italian-language report quotes the president of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations as saying the contraceptive pill "has for some years had devastating effects on the environment by releasing [tons] of hormones into nature" through female urine, and that there is "sufficient evidence to state that a non-negligible cause of male infertility in the West is the environmental pollution caused by the pill."
The report was disputed by several pharmacological organizations, including the Society of Italian Pharmacology, whose Flavia Franconi was quoted as saying that the hormones in the pill "are present everywhere... in plastic, in disinfectants, in meat that we eat" and do not contribute to pollution or infertility.
http://www.myfoxchattanooga.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8190863&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.4.1
what do you think?
4 responses
@53rdcevar (102)
• Singapore
5 Jan 09
i think it can be true as all this control methods alters the human hormone system. I guess these alterations will somewhat cause some damage to your body.
@chantalgiardina (2523)
• United States
5 Jan 09
i mean yes i think it alters the female body and hormonal system, but do i think it is causing pollution, etc. no
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
5 Jan 09
I'm not really sure. I think everything has its risks. I never took birth control so I really cannot add to this discussion to its entirity.
@Sheepie (3112)
• United States
5 Jan 09
I am pretty sure this is not a matter of opinion. If it's not harmful, it's not harmful. Whether or not it is a good thing that people use the pill is a matter of choice. The church can't tell everyone what to do, as much as they seem to have liked to.
@opalina143 (1240)
• Morristown, New Jersey
5 Jan 09
I don't know.
On the one hand, we have the Catholic Church, which opposes the pill anyway, and ist really against contraception of any type. So they are kind of biased.
On the other hand, we have the pharmasutical companies who say its safe, but they are actually SELLING the pill, and making money off it so of course they are biased too. Why would they ever admit that their product causes health problems and lose business?
I think independent scientists and researchers should study the Vatican's claims to see if they are true. These people would be knowledgable and unbiased and I would listen to their studies.
Until I hear from nuetral scientists, I would say I don't really know who to believe.
