Barbara Seaman- Pioneer of the women's reproductive health movement
Barbara Seaman was a journalist who wrote in Brides Magazine as well as in Ladies’ Home Journal. Seaman mainly wrote about medical field, focusing mainly on the patient rather than the system itself. Seaman argued that consent between female patients and doctors was absent during appointments. This argument lead to discussion around risks and regulations surrounding prescribed drugs. Seaman found out that complications and adverse affects ranged from “complaints of dizziness, headaches, and nausea [to] reports of serious-and sometimes fatal-blood clots. Then came multiple studies linking the pill to cancer, heart disease, and stroke.”[6] Seaman reported her findings in an article in Ladies’ Home Journal in 1967 and eventually wrote The Doctor’s Case Against the Pill in 1969 informing women of the risks involved in consuming the birth control pill.
In July 1967, Ladies Home Journal published an article called “The Terrible Trouble with the Birth-Control Pills,” The article was one of the first to explain how this ‘ingenious invention’ was the demise of women’s reproductive health. Seaman wrote, “the women who took the pill and liked its convenience felt at last women were on the road to true liberation from the onerous old double standard…. [But] then, in different parts of the world, pessimistic voices began to ask: “How do we know that the pill is safe?” Most people tried not to listen. How could anything be wrong with this latest, most blessed miracle of science?.”[7] The pill liberated women and created a way in which they could control an aspect of their lives. However, proper safeguards were missing and many women ended up taking the pill without knowing the consequences. This article in Ladies Home Journal was one of the first to document the dangers of the pill. As a result, the everyday women learned about the risks and benefits of oral contraceptives through an article rather than a medical professional. Hence, this revolutionized the way in which medical care was precieved by women across the nation.