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Bloodless RevolutionThe abolition of menstruation.

By William SaletanPosted Saturday, May 26, 2007, at 7:02 AM ET

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Sarah E. Richards first introduced the period-stopping pill, and Sydney Spiesel examined its relationship to uterine cancer risk.

For women with severe physical symptoms—cramps, migraines, nausea—banishing periods is a no-brainer. But for many others, menstrual discomfort is more psychological. At a conference four years ago, researchers presented evidence that women's interest in menstrual suppression correlated more strongly with their attitudes toward menstruation than with their symptoms. Last year, when Lybrel's manufacturer, Wyeth, asked women what bothered them most about their periods, most picked pain or inconvenience. But one in four cited mood swings, weight gain, overeating, clothing anxiety, or feeling dirty.

The danger, from a standpoint of emancipation, is that some of these women won't shut off the bleeding to satisfy themselves. They'll do it to satisfy others. On menstrual-suppression Web sites, you can find testimonies from women who hate their periods for making them too moody for their boyfriends or too tired to go to the office. Their menses are getting in the way of their men. Even a gender-studies major, effusing over Lybrel, told ABC News, "Maybe men would respect women more if they didn't have periods."

Drug companies play on these insecurities. Bayer advertises Yaz as the only birth-control pill approved by the FDA to treat "Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder," which can impair "your work, daily activities or relationships." The pill's Web site lists symptoms to watch out for: "Irritability. Moodiness. Feeling Anxious. Bloating. Increased Appetite." Last fall, a Wyeth executive told investors that women might buy $250 million worth of Lybrel a year, in part because periods threatened their job attendance or performance.

Pills can liberate you from old burdens. They can also impose new ones. I'm glad women are free to take Lybrel. I hope, in the future, they'll also feel free not to.

A version of this article also appears in the Outlook section of the Sunday Washington Post.