"By the late 1960s discussion of the population problems of underdeveloped countries had helped to stimulate renewed interest in family planning programs in the United States. Happy, there was a growing discussion about the social and philosophical issues involved in the management of human reproduction, whereas only a decade before, informed interest had been limited to a few social scientists. The whole nature of the debate, however, as well as the prospects for controlling population growth, had been radically altered by the availability of the plastic intrauterine device, an American gift to the world."