Fall 1970-Spring 1980
The Dalkon Shield, intrauterine birth control device (IUD) sold in the early 1970s that was responsible for a high number of reported incidents of inflammatory pelvic infections, uterine perforations, and spontaneous septic abortions, as well as at least four deaths. It was manufactured by the A.H. Robins Company. Sales of the Dalkon Shield were suspended at the request of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 1974. In 1985, after 9,500 cases had been litigated or settled, the company filed for bankruptcy and set up a $2.3 billion fixed-asset trust fund to deal with the thousands of pending cases.
The Dalkon Shield was invented by physician Hugh Davis and electrical engineer Irwin Lerner in 1968. Men.
I decided to make a reliquary for the device not to honor the object but to point out that women need better oversight for devices that go into their bodies. I've always been suspicious of these devices but apparently it is still widely used. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/m…