Despite the dramas, 'the pill' has no doubt been a remarkable drug

摘要

Infamous for his "rivers of blood" speech, controversial politician Enoch Powell is less well known as the health minister who approved the contraceptive pill for prescription on the NHS in December 1961. Responding to a question from fellow MP Nicholas Ridley about the high cost of the pill (up to 17 shillings per month), Powell refused to put limitations on its use, and left it to individual doctors to decide who should have it. But Ridley need not have been concerned about the public purse because it took several years for the pill to take off in the UK.