The long-term use of oral contraception doubles a woman’s risk of glaucoma and other eye diseases. You never heard this before? Listen to this press releasefrom the American Academy of Ophthalmology:
NEW ORLEANS – Nov. 18, 2013 – Research presented today, at the 117th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in New Orleans, has found
that women who have taken oral contraceptives for three or more years are twice as likely to suffer from glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness
which affects nearly 60 million worldwide. The researchers caution gynecologists and ophthalmologists to be aware of the fact that oral contraceptives
might play a role in glaucomatous diseases, and inform patients to have their eyes screened for glaucoma if they also have other risk factors.
(Emphasis added.)
“Inform patients to have their eyes screened.” Notice they do not caution women to reconsider their decision to take oral contraception
in the first place. I wonder why? The press release goes on:
“The study – conducted by researchers at University of California, San Francisco, Duke University School of Medicine and Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang
University, Nanchang, China – is the first to establish an increased risk of glaucoma in women who have used oral contraceptives for three or more
years. The researchers utilized 2005-2008 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), administered by the Centers for
Disease Control, which included 3,406 female participants aged 40 years or older from across the United States… It found that females who had
used oral contraceptives, no matter which kind, for longer than three years are 2.05 times more likely to also report that they have the diagnosis
of glaucoma.”
Why does oral contraception double the risk of glaucoma? No one knows yet, for sure. However, according to the press release,
“Previous studies in the field have shown that estrogen may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma.” Don’t women deserve to know this?
Now maybe you might argue that young women care more about the immediate benefits, and are willing to accept some long term risks. Or you might even argue
young women are intrinsically short-sighted, and we should honor that, even though adults can predict trouble ahead that a young person might understandably
discount. So, why don’t we tell older women about this risk? Many mothers put their daughters on birth control pills during their teens, sometimes
for superficial causes such as helping to clear up acne. Mothers presumably have a longer time horizon and their daughter’s best interests at heart.
Shouldn’t the mothers at least, be fully informed? I repeat my question from an earlier post: Why does the US government insist that every employer in
America provide potentially dangerous, chemical contraception to perfectly healthy women? And why was the Hobby Lobby case even a 5-4 close call?
“Long-Term Oral Contraceptive Users Are Twice As Likely To Have Serious Eye Disease,” November 19, 2013, Press Release from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.No one else is reaching out to the Victims of the Sexual Revolution the way the Ruth Institute is. Heck, most people don’t even realize there ARE any Victims of the Sexual Revolution! Go the Ruth Institute Splash Page and pick out at least one way to support our work.
