Birth Control

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a call Tuesday for birth control pills to be sold over the counter. Currently oral contraceptives are available only with a doctor's prescription. In a policy statement, the organization argues that making birth control pills easier to get will translate into fewer unwanted pregnancies. These unplanned pregnancies remain a major problem in the United States, they write, accounting for approximately 50% of all pregnancies.

Half a dozen men with walkie-talkies and cattle prods set out on foot at sunrise Thursday to coax a herd of 10 feral bison into a corral a mile away at the bottom of a Santa Catalina Island valley. It wasn't easy. In the final days of the mating season, a massive bull kept one beady eye on his cows, all of them pregnant, and the other on his human pursuers, who followed close behind shouting and waving their arms as the animals lumbered up steep slopes and into plunging ravines.

When the oral contraceptives Yasmin and Yaz came on the market in 2001 and 2006, respectively, they were thought to be safer than other birth control pills because they contained a different kind of synthetic progestin. But in a flurry of lawsuits against the pills' maker, Bayer HealthCare, attorneys claim that the progestin contained in the pills, drospirenone, is the cause of health problems, including deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the deep veins), strokes, heart attacks and gallbladder disease.

Kostmayer states, "Congressman Bush started his political career as a leading proponent of birth control. . . ." True. I'm sure George Bush is still in favor of birth control, but is against abortion as a method of birth control. Those who share his belief do so because they believe abortion is the taking of human life. Why do those who editorialize neglect to state this fundamental fact? CLAUDETTE BUCKLEY, Newport Beach

At Planned Parenthood of Indiana, 'tis the season of giving healthcare and contraception. The network of 35 clinics across the state announced it is offering holiday vouchers for basic healthcare services, "the recipient's choice of birth control method" and abortions. The gift certificates can be purchased in increments of $25 online or for any dollar amount at some Planned Parenthood of Indiana health centers. Opponents of abortion and artificial birth control, however, said the gesture denigrated the holiday season.

Like a lot of young women, Kelsey Webb, 25, has been off and on birth control pills since she was 18. Every time she started taking them, she gained 5 to 10 pounds. "My normal weight is around 125 pounds. On the pill, I would get up to 130 or 135," says Webb, who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall. FOR THE RECORD: Birth control pills: A package of articles about birth control pills in the March 21 Health & Wellness section said Dr. Ricardo Azziz, an obstetrician and gynecologist specializing in endocrine disorders, is president of the Medical College of Georgia.