My position is that young women seeking to effectively and confidently use hon-hormonal methods of birth control, should be supported by their physicians and sexual health care providers. Yet, they come up against docs who try to overcome their objections to the Pill at every turn. One young woman I talked with told me that after much frustration she finally answered the doc who asked about her reasons for not wanting to use hormonal birth control was: “My reasons are none of your business.” It’s not a bad answer if you want to avoid being “sold” on pharamceutical contraceptives.

As for evidence about side effects or concerns over long term use of birth control, the research is mounting. I’ll be sure to forward some of the research I’ve collected to Holly so she can add it to her blog.

There would be nothing wrong with you being a man, I wouldn’t assume that to be an insult – only I find your stance perplexing in its intensity, considering that I am doing no harm, and may, I hope, be helping some women, and I am wondering what your mysterious motivations might be. Your lack of sensitivity to my own experience, and those of the women who have commented here, intrigues me. I think I, and these women, are ‘rational’ enough to, at least retrospectively, discern between our natural responses and our unnatural pill-imbued responses.

Over the years how many drugs can you think of that have been released and ended up being withdrawn because of side effects? The pill itself was released and then reevaluated at the end of it’s first decade because the high dose of estrogen was causing blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.

I am not contradicting myself, I said there was very little research, which is correct, and I happen to have read most of this research and spoken with the researchers. The research happens to back up the stories of the women I have spoken to, as do the plain and simple facts – for some, possibly many, women shutting down their natural cycles might at some point provoke a negative impact.

I am not ‘insecure’ about my writing at all. I’m certainly not anonymous, for starters. And I would love for you to send me over the research you seem to know so much about. My blog has my email on it. I would also wonder, for the third time now, what exactly is your particular area of expertise and your interest in these matters? Thanks!

I haven’t once called you hysterical, or anyone else. Yet you feel the need to put words in my mouth- are you that insecure about what you’re writing?

Fine. Call me a man. It won’t make your premise any more realistic, nor will it help your reading comprehension. I think we’re finished here, since you don’t seem to understand how to have a rational conversation.

The pill shuts down women’s natural cycles. This is a scientific fact. And my discussion of the pill’s potential effects stems from this fact and the implications of this fact.

Back before the pill was released, it was thought that women would not submit to taking a medication each day when they were not sick. Now the pill is making women sick. I’m not writing a blog that criticises a drug used by cancer patients, or even a drug that acts as a painkiller, I’m writing about a drug that healthy young women take every day of their lives for years on end, which has an impact on their healthy bodies and can have some nasty side effects on their quality of life. They don’t need to take the pill to be well – there are many just as effective alternative contraceptive methods that do not shut down a vital part of their biology.

I am concerned with raising awareness that the pill can have side effects on mood and well being, so that women who do experience these problems do not spend months searching for answers as to why they feel that way and suffer. That’s my main motivation. Have you ever read the acclaimed cultural analysis work The Beauty Myth? Is that ‘rational’ or ’scientific’? I’d be interested to know if you think that to be just the ‘fanciful’ ramblings of a hysterical woman, too.

As far as research goes, I have indeed read the relevant research and spoken with researchers. A couple of months back I spoke to a research scientist about her very recently released data which showed almost half of the women studied experienced depression and anxiety when taking the pill. I spoke to another research scientist this summer who discovered a large number of women experiencing very low libido and energy levels when taking the pill. I spoke to another research scientist earlier this year who found similar findings as part of her extensive work with the Kinsey Institute.

As I said, I am being honest, and my blog is riddled with straightforward declarations of my motivations. You know my name, you know what I do, as do the readers of my blog. You’re now raising questions I’ve already answered as an undermining tactic.

So then: who are you? What are your motivations? You say ‘I have no problem with women speaking out.’ You mention ‘women who seem to be blaming basic human biology on their birth control pill.’ I have to say, Ms. Laynie, you kinda sorta write like a man.