NOT THAT THIS affects me anymore, but I'm glad to see the sponge is coming back. It was taken off the market in 1995 after the FDA discovered that the water being used by the manufacturer to make it was contaminated, and the equipment used to detect contamination was not functioning properly. The sponge is easy to use (unlike a diaphragm) and does not contain hormones (unlike birth control pills). It also has a very high success rate (89 - 91%).

The only problem is, it works by physically blocking the passage of sperm, which are absorbed into the sponge and then killed with a spermicide. Does anyone else think that the religious fanatics who oppose pills that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus will cry foul at the return of the sponge, given that the sponge prevents the sperm from fertilizing an egg and then murders the sperm?