1971 · Plastic Intrauterine Device · Work 1071 of 1,871
A gynaecologist's consulting room in Virginia on a humid summer morning, warm light through a half-drawn white roller blind, on a steel instrument tray a tiny device of ivory translucent plastic two and a half centimetres long, a flat teardrop outline framing a thin milky membrane with one small round hole near its lower edge, along each side five short soft prongs with thickened rounded tips, from a black knot at its point a thin black thread in one long loose arc across the steel, beside it a torn-open plain unprinted paper sleeve and slender steel forceps, gloved fingertips at the tray edge, an empty couch with a white paper sheet behind.