Contesting claims on the safety and acceptability of anti-fertifity vaccines

References 

1. Hardon AP . The needs of women versus the interests of family planning personnel, policy-makers and researchers: conflicting views on safety and acceptability of contraceptives . Social Science and Medicine . 1992;35(6):753–766

   This paper describes the diverse acceptability and safety issues that emerged but not how women's health advocates disagree among themselves about safety issues.
2. WHO/HRP/ ITT/91 In: Creating Common Ground: Women's Perspectives on the Selection and Introduction of Fertility Regulating Technologies . Geneva: WHO; 1991;
3. In: Declaration, International Symposium on Contraceptive Research and Development for the Year 2000 and Beyond . Mexico City . 8–10 March 1993;

4. From a Medline search using the keywords fertility, hCG and vaccine.
5. Schrijvers J . Dialectics of the dialogical ideal: studying down, studying sideways and studying up . In:  Nencel L ,  Pels P editor. Constructing Knowledge: Authority and Critique in Social Science . London: Sage; 1991;
6. Jones WE . Immunological Fertility Regulation . Oxford: Blackwell Science; 1982;
7. Barzelatto J . Welcoming address . In:  Ada GL ,  Griffin PD editor. Vaccines for Fertility Regulation: The Assessment of Their Safety and Efficacy . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1991;
8. In: Research in Huinan Reproduction. Biennial Report 1988–1989 . Geneva: WHO; 1990;p. 27
9. Hearn JP . Immunization of pregnancy . In: Proceedings ofthe Royal Society London . 195: 1976;p. 149–160
10. WHO Task Force on Immunological Methods for Fertility Regulation  . Evaluating the safety and efficacy of placental antigen vaccines for fertility regulation . Clinical Exp. Immunology. . 1978;33:360–375

    The Task Force on Immunological Methods for Fertility Regulation first met in 1973 with the aim of developing immunological methods of contraception further. The WHO Expanded Programme of Research, Development, and Research Training in Human Reproduction was set up in 1971 and itself set up a number of interdisciplinary task forces consisting of scientists and clinicians to collaborate on specific, research-oriented goals. See also Griffin PD, 1991. WHO Task Force on Vaccines for Fertility Regulation: its formation, objectives and research activities. Human Reproduction. 6(1):166-72.
11. Nash HA , Talwar GP , Segal S , et al.   Observations on the antigenicity and clinical effects of a candidate anti-pregnancy vaccine. Beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin linked to tetanus toxoid . Fertility and Sterility. . 1980;34:328–335
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12. Shahani SM , Kulkarni PP , Patel KL , et al.   Clinical and immunological response to Pr-B-hCG TT vaccine . Contraception. . 1982;25:421–434
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13. Talwar GP , Hingorani V , Kumar S . Phase I clinical trials with three formulations of antihuman chorionic gonadotropin vaccine . Contraception . 1990;41(3):301–316
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14. Jones WR , Bradley J , Judd SJ , et al.   Phase I clinical trial of a World Health Organization bird control vaccine . Lancet. . 1988;11:1295–1298 June
15. Talwar GP , Raghupathy R . Anti-fertility vaccines . Vaccine. . 1989;7(2):97–101
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16. See Griffin PD , Jones WR . The preliminary clinical evaluation of the safety and efficacy of fertility regulating vaccine . Statistics in Medicine. . 1991;10(2):178
17. Gupta SK , Koothan PT . Relevance of immunocontraceptive vaccines for population control. Hormonal immune contraception . Archivum Immunologiae et Therpiae Experimentalis. . 1990;38(1–2):47
18. Marshall JF . Acceptability of fertility regulating methods: designing technology to fit people . Preventive Medicine. . 1977;6:65–73
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19. Talwar GP , Singh O , Rao LV . An improved immunogen for anti-human chorionic gonadotropin vaccine eliciting antibodies reactive with a conformation native to the hormone without cross-reaction with human follicle stimulating hormone and human thyroid stimulating hormone . Journal of Reproductive Immunology. . 1988;14(3):210
20. Mitchison NA . Gonadotropin vaccines . Current Opinion in Immunology. . 1990;2:726

21. I interviewed Dr Talwar in August 1996, when he had already retired as director of the NII in New Delhi. Dr Griffin was interviewed in December 1996, during a visit to WHO with two social scientists from Delhi who are doing research on vaccines. See Viswanath K, and Kirbat P, 1997. Genealogy of a Controversy: Development of an Anti-fertility Vaccine. Working Paper No 7. Social Science and Immunization Country Study: India. Centre for Development Economics, Delhi.
22. In:  Ada GL ,  Griffin PD editor. Vaccines for Fertility Regulation: The Assessment of Their Safety and Efficacy . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1991;
23. Harden AP . An analysis of research on new contraceptive hCG vaccines . WGNRR Newsletter. . 1989; April–June[pp15
24. Griffin PD . Letters on contraceptive vaccine research . WGNRR Newsletter. . 1990;32:6–7
25. Richter J . Research on antifertility vaccines: priority or problem . WGNRR Newsletter. . 1992;39:13–18
26. Schrater AF . Contraceptive vaccines: promises and problems . In:  Bequaert Holmes H editors. Issues in Reproductive Technology: An Anthology . New York: Garland; 1992;
27. In: Fertility regulating vaccines: report of a meeting between women's health advocates and scientists to review the current status of the development of fertility regulating vaccines . Geneva, Switzerland 17–18 August 1992 . WHO/HRP/WHO/ 93.1 . 1993; Geneva
28. In preparation for the meeting Richter wrote an extensive review of anti-fertility vaccines Richter J . Vaccination Against Pregnancy: Miracle or Menace . London: Zed Books; 1996;
29. Call for a Stop of Research on Antifertility ‘Vaccines’ . Amsterdam: WGNRR; 1993;
30. Yanco J , Will A , Stemerding B . Resistance on the rise. Stop Anti-Fertility ‘Vaccines’. Stop anti-fertility ‘vaccines’! International campaign against population control and abusive, hazardous contraceptives . Amsterdam: WGNRR; 1996;
31. -Benagiano G, Director, Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, letter dated 21 January 1994; -Gabelnick HL, Director, CONRAD, letter dated 2 March 1 994; -Catley-Carlson M, President, Population Council, letter dated 28 June 1994, (with a request for wide distribution of the letter). All letters were directed to B Stemerding, responding to the ‘Call for a Stop’ campaign.
32. Ravindran TKS , Berer M . Contraceptive safety and effectiveness: re-evaluating women's needs and professiona criteria: Introduction . Reproductive Health Matters. . 1994;3:6–12 (May)
33. Griffin PD , Jones WR , Stevens VC . Anti-fertility vaccines current status and implications for family planning programmes . Reproductive Health Matters. . 1994;3:108–113 (May)
34. See also Shervington D . Questioning the wisdom in changing a part of the whole . Reproductive Health Matters. . 1994;4:108; (Nov)
35. Macklin R . Combatting the potential for abuse . Reproductive Health Matters . 1994;4:112
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36. Schrater AF . The pros anc cons: guarded optimism . Reproductive Health Matters . 1994;4:110
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37. Berer M , Ravindran TKS . Open letter to WGNRR . WGNR Newsletter. . 1994;48:14–15 (Oct–Dec)
38. Talwar GP , Singh O , Pal R , et al.   A birth control vaccine is on the horizon for family planning . Annals of Medicine. . 1993;25:207–212

    The antibody titre mentioned is 50ng/ml.

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39. Talwar GP , Singh O , Pal R , et al.   A vaccine that prevents pregnancy in women . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA. . 91: 1994;p. 8532–8536 (18)
40. In: Annual Technical Report 1994. WHO/HRP/ATP/94/95 . Geneva: WHO; 1995;
41. In: Technology development and assessment: products under development . Geneva: WHO Special Programme on Research, Development, and Research Training in Human Reproduction. WHO; 1995;

42. Interview with Rosemary Thau, Population Council, March 1993.
43. IDRC position statement on contraceptive vaccine research . Ottawa: IDRC; 1995;
44. Bezanson KA, 1997. Letter dated 24 January 1997 to Karen Seabrooke, International Campaign against Population Control and Abusive Hazardous Contraceptives, Canada.
45. Jayaraman KS . India downgrades family planning research . Nature Medicine. . 1997;1(5):478
46. Paintal D, cited in Viswanath K and Kirbat P,1997. op cit [21], p16.
47. The role of the Programme in technology development and assessment. A discussion paper . Geneva: UNDP/UNFPA/World Bank/ WHO Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction. WHO; October 1995;
48. Beyond Acceptability: Users' Perspectives on Contraception. Ravindran TKS, Berer M. and Cottingham J. (eds). Reproductive Health Matters/WHO, London.
49. Snow R , Garcia S , Kureshy N , et al.   Attributes of contraceptive technology: women's preferences in seven countries . In:  Ravindram TKS ,  Berer M ,  Cottingham J editor. Beyond Acceptibility: User's Perspectives on Contraception . 1997;p. 36–48
50. In: Report of the first meeting of the HRP Gender Advisory Panel . Geneva, 12–14 February 1996 . UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction; 1996;
51. Personal communication Jane Cottingham, Technical Officer: Women's Perspectives and Gender Issues, UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training, Geneva, October 1997.
52. Stemerding B . Letter to all people involved in the campaign. Amsterdam: WGNRR . Amsterdamd: WGNRR; 1996; January 24. (Quote has been modified based on comments by Griffin on the wording cited by Stemerding.)

53. There was also controversy I did not deal with in this paper, between pro-life groups and public health administrators on the alleged contamination of tetanus toxoid vaccine with antihCG. See Tan ML, 1995. All in the name of life. Reproductive Health Matters. 6(Nov):29–31.
54. Hardon A . Women's views and experiences of hormonal contraceptives: what we know and what we need to find out . In: Report of the first meeting of the HRP Gender Advisory Panel . Geneva, 12–14 February 1996 . UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction; 1994;p. 68–78

55. This point was made by one of the Indian doctors involved in the clinical trials in an interview with Kalpana Viswanath and Preeti Kirbat, see [46].