Success in the Laboratory.

The birth-control pill, developed in the 1950s, contains the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Finding a cheap source of progesterone was an early stumbling block to development of the pill, until researchers found that the hormone could be extracted from Mexican yams. Once a pill was produced and found to be safe in lab animals, it was tested on a human volunteer population in Puerto Rico. Results were astounding. Pregnancy prevention reached a level of nearly 100 percent, and most failures were due to forgetfulness — patients had to take the pill regularly, or it did not work.

The Public Gets the Pill.

In May 1960 the FDA approved distribution of the first oral contraceptive to the general population by prescription. The first pill, called Enovid, was marketed by the G. D. Searle Company of Chicago. It...