From the lab into the world

by Carl Djerassi

Carl Djerassi, world famous for the first synthesis of the active progestational ingredient of the Pill, speaks out on a wide variety of topics in this captivating book. Djerassi's personal growth from laboratory scientist to spokesman on scientific issues as well as the myriad ways that developments in the laboratory can affect people all over the world are presented in this engaging collection of essays. Djerassi's starting point is the Pill; he describes the history of its development and its future in view of the public's unattainable desire for a risk-free Pill, special testing requirements, and the unfavorable climate for contraception research. From contraceptives, Djerassi broadens his scope to include the entire area of birth control and gives his opinions on factors influencing abortion, the relationship of abortion to the availability of contraceptives, the problem of teenage pregnancy in the United States, the need for chemical abortion inducers, and the possibilities for a