Vaccination against pregnancy

by Judith Richter

The new immunological contraceptives now under development are being hailed as a breakthrough in medical science and a solution to population growth in the South. They work by provoking an auto-immune response which tricks the body into attacking its own reproductive hormones as though they were some kind of infection. But preventing pregnancy is not like fighting a disease. Will these new contraceptives be reliable? Are they safe? Are the results reversible? Does their design encourage coercion and abuse? A public debate is urgently needed, this book argues, before immunological contraceptives become a 'fact of life' for women.