Episode One: Norplant's Development

Norplant was the first subdermal implantable contraceptive device. It consisted of six silicone rubber rods filled with a hormone. When inserted under the skin of a woman's arm, Norplant prevented pregnancies for up to five years. In this first episode, historian, Justina Licata, looks at Norplant's development and testing trials leading up to the drug's FDA approval in 1990. It focuses on Norplant’s early connections to the population control movement.