Okay, with the drospirenone study & the FDA finally raising a flag for a chance (see first article in the list), the world population hitting 7 Billion Monday, as well as me finally checking my old bookmarks and Google Alerts–there’s a lot here to read. Pick a few to start with. And by all means, comment away (especially on the secular web sites!).

News

• Study Links New Birth Control Pill to Blood Clots & Strokes (NPR Health Blog)
• Welcome Baby Seven Billion--an initiative of the World Youth Alliance
• Ovarian Tumors May Develop Years After IVF Treatment (USA Today Health)

News Commentary

• The Grass is Just as Complicated on the Other Side by Simcha Fisher–commentary on NFP struggles
• World Contraception Day: Empowering Whom? [I think it's 'who', but whatever] by Arland Nichols at the Ruth Institute Blog
• The Catholic Church’s Best Kept Secret–One Husband’s Thoughts
• Why the Pill is a Problem by Kristan Doerfle
• No Exceptions with Contraception–Thank God! by Jennifer Fulwiler, wonderful reflection on the no exceptions for contraception teaching by the Catholic Church, and encouragement by someone who’s lived this difficult teaching in a health-crisis

Misc.

• 10 Ways to Tell if a Product Is (or isn’t) Really Natural (er…HuffPo)
• Who You Callin’ a Slut? Commentary on the ‘Slut Walks’ at About-Face, a feminist non-profit promoting positive body image

(c) 2011 J.Smith

My new blog cards are ‘a comin. Let me know if you like them. If I like them when I get here, I’ll send them to you if you want to hand ‘em out or leave them at random co-ops and farmers markets.

Matthew Archibold at Creative Minority Report, one of my fav funny, faithy commentary blogs, discovers first-hand how ironic contracepting organic folks are.

No, it’s *not* actually a surprise to NFP fans the that Pill isn’t a panacea. Modern NFP has been around since the 60′s, and more widely known since the 70′s and 80′s. But to those outside the NFP-world-niche, the fact that “Women Look Beyond the Pill” is news.

A Red Tent Sister, an object of my recent post on FAM/ecosex entrepreneurs, gets quoted in this recent article out of The Montreal Gazzette, a Canadian publication.

A Highlight of my favorite part of the article:

The continued popularity of the pill doesn’t indicate it is the best form of birth control for women, said Laura Wershler, executive director of Sexual Health Access Alberta in Calgary.Instead, she said, it indicates women don’t know enough about their options.

“What I see in our communities is an absolute failure to move beyond the idea that hormonal birth control is the be-all and end-all,” Wershler said. “What’s happening is we’re not developing support programs and advocacy for women looking for non-hormonal methods.”

Natural family-planning methods, or fertility-awareness methods, whereby a woman determines the fertile and non-fertile times of her monthly cycle, aren’t often taken seriously by physicians, she added.

“There’s this lack of knowledge and understanding within my own field,” Wershler said. “Women are going to sexual health clinics and being laughed off by the doctors and clinics for looking for alternatives.”

For a related message inviting women to “look beyond the Pill” , listen to my talk, “Think Outside the Pill.” (Trademark phrase of mine–some day I’ll actually trademark it!)

Speaking of Earth Day….