Last year, the birth-control pill celebrated its 50th anniversary, and while much has changed in the world since the pill's early days, one thing remains a constant: side effects. In fact, newer "third generation" birth-control pills might actually be riskier than their older counterparts, with new research concluding they're three times more likely to cause dangerous, possibly fatal blood clots. The news has commentators wondering why improved birth-control options haven't hit the market in recent decades. Why isn't birth control getting better?
Big Pharma doesn't care about the female market: American women need better birth control — 20 percent of us are unhappy with the method we're using, says Ann Friedman at GOOD. "Are pharmaceutical companies so busy inventing illnesses and wooing doctors that they can't bother to invest in R&D for a product for which 99 percent of American women are potential consumers — not to mention the rest of the world?" Apparently, the answer is yes, drug makers can make more money elsewhere, so women are out of luck.
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