Time Line
Time Line
1980
• Family planning experts look at Ovral as "morning-after" pill.
• OB/GYN surgery dominates the list of most-performed surgical procedures, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
• A California woman wins $1.4 million in out-of-court settlement over Dalkon Shield intrauterine device.
1981
• New triphasic oral contraceptive Trinordiol mimics hormone pattern of menses.
• A long-acting contraceptive implant, Norplant, undergoes international clinical trials, reports the Population Council.
• Researchers study con traceptive injections of luteinizing hormone-releasing hor mone (LHRH). Findings published in New England Journal of Medicine.
1982
• Research published in the Journal of American Medical Association indicates that OCs protect against endometrial cancer.
• Ortho Pharmaceutical launches its new biphasic pill, ON 10/11, which provides less progestin in the first 10 days of cycle and a stable dose of 35 mcg of ethinyl estradiol.
• Citing low sales, Julius Schmid Laboratories announces it will no longer manufacture the Saf-T-Coil intrauterine device.
1983
• A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) board investigates concerns regarding cancer risks and use of depot medroxyprogesterone (DMPA), which is seeking U.S. approval.
• The contraceptive implant Norplant shows high effectiveness as it enters phase III clinical trials in the United States.
• The FDA approves the Today sponge for contraceptive use.
1984
• Largest study to date of vasectomized men reveals that after 10 years, such men are just as healthy as nonvasectomized men.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta calls for careful counseling on contraceptive sponge/ toxic shock syndrome (TSS) after four cases of TSS are reported in 1983.
• Wyeth-Ayerst asks for FDA approval of the OC Trinordiol to be renamed Triphasic for U.S. use.
• Ortho Pharmaceutical markets the first triphasic pill, Ortho-Novum 7/7/7, in the United States.
• Upjohn Company files an exception to FDA board’s recommendation that DMPA be disapproved for U.S. sales due to cancer concerns.
1985
• Citing economic factors, Ortho stops marketing Lippes Loop IUD.
• Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco announce that using condoms blocks sexual transmission of HIV.
• The federal and state governments spend $398 million in fiscal year 1985 to provide contraceptive services and supplies, with the Medicaid program and Title X of the Public Health Service Act as the two leading funding sources.
1986
• For financial reasons, Searle Pharmaceutical Group discontinues production of two IUDs: the TCu-200 and the Cu-7.
• Progestasert Intra uterine Progesterone Contraceptive System becomes the first contraceptive product to incorporate a policy of informed choice, which enables both providers and patients to become properly informed of the risks and benefits associated with use of the method.
• VCF vaginal contraceptive film receives FDA approval for marketing in the United States.
1987
• World population hits 5 billion.
• The FDA approves condom labeling to contain claims for the prevention of viral sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and herpes.
• Only 1% of American women ages 15 to 44 report using IUDs for birth control.
1988
• Copper T-380A IUD marketing begins, five years after FDA approval.
• The FDA Center for Devices and Radiol ogical Health clears the cervical cap for marketing in the United States, making it the first contraceptive medical device approved by the agency since 1976.
• By 1988, 24% of reproductive-age women in the United States report use of sterilization for contraception. Seventeen percent of those women underwent tubal occlusion, and 7% relied on partner vasectomy.
1989
• An advisory committee to the FDA recommends that the benefits of taking low-dose OCs may outweigh the possible health risks of pill use by healthy, nonsmoking women who continue to take OCs past age 40.
• RU-486 becomes available in several hundred authorized clinics in France following its September 1988 approval by French officials for use in medical abortion.
1990
• FDA approves Nor plant contraceptive implants.
• Vasectomy does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to study of 4,500 vasectomized physicians in the U.S. Physicians Health Study.
• Contraceptive Technology Update’s first salary survey shows that according to job description, registered nurses earn a median salary of $17,500; nurse practitioners earn $32,500; nurse midwives earn $37,500; and physicians earn $47,500.
1991
• The CDC publishes its first treatment guidelines for pelvic inflammatory disease.
• Family planners express outrage over the U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the "gag rule," a government ban on abortion options counseling in clinics receiving Title X federal funding.
• The National Cancer Institute proposes use of the "Bethesda system" in reporting Pap smear results.
1992
• The FDA approves DMPA contraceptive injection.
• Researchers report promising results from studies investigating three IUDs: the Cu-SAFE, Flexigard 330, and the levonorgestrel IUD.
• Norgestimate, the first new progestin in 20 years, is introduced to the U.S. market with Ortho-Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen OCs.
1993
• The FDA approves the Reality female condom.
• The "gag rule" is lifted by President Clinton, allowing federally funded clinics to continue offering abortion counseling to clients.
• An expert committee convened by the National Institutes of Health recommends current practice regarding vasectomy remain unchanged, despite two highly-publicized studies linking vasectomy with prostate cancer.
1994
• The United National International Confer ence on Population and Development issues its Programme of Action, focusing attention on women’s rights and freedom of reproductive choice.
• The Avanti polyure thane condom makes its U.S. debut in 13 Western states.
• New tests for routine chlamydia screening are on the horizon: Experts look to FDA approval of ligase chain reaction tests, which will join the polymerase chain reaction technology approved in 1993 as options in screening for the STD.
1995
• Today sponge manufacturer Whitehall-Robins Healthcare halts production of the contraceptive device after determining it would cost too much to correct manufacturing problems caused by water quality issues at the factory where the sponge was made.
• A panel of 24 international experts issues a consensus statement following a Bellagio, Italy, conference calling for all governments and nongovern- mental organizations to include emergency contraception in all family planning programs.
• Britain’s Committee on Safety of Medicines in London and the Frankfurt, Germany-based Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices call for restrictions on prescribing OCs with the proges tins gestodene and desogestrel. The European Agency for Evaluation of Medicinal Products in London and the FDA agree that the risks of the pills do not warrant such action. These actions follow early release of information from three reports indicating a link to increased risk for venous thromboembolism and pill use.
1996
• FDA approves Filshie Clip for use in tubal sterilization.
• FDA approval given to new OC, Estrostep, which offers graduated amounts of ethinyl estradiol with a constant dose of norethindrone acetate.
• Ortho Tri-Cyclen is first OC to receive FDA OK for noncontraceptive marketing.
1997
• The FDA publishes notice in the Federal Register that affirms safety and efficacy of the emergency contraceptive pill regimen, which clears the way for prescribing ECPs in the United States.
• Wyeth-Ayerst receives FDA clearance for Alesse, a 20 mcg OC with 100 mcg of levonorgestrel.
• U.S. syphilis rates drop to a 40-year low, with public health officials calling for efforts to eliminate the STD.
1998
• Organon receives FDA approval for Mircette, a 20 mcg pill with a shortened hormone-free interval.
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