Dr. Hugh James Davis Jr.; Invented Dalkon Shield

Dr. Hugh James Davis Jr., 69, the gynecologist who invented the birth control device known as the Dalkon shield. Although he was a pioneer in laparoscopy and held more than 30 patents on medical instruments used in abdominal surgery, Davis was most praised--and most reviled--over the intrauterine device. The Food and Drug Administration suspended use of the Dalkon shield in 1974 after 11 deaths and 209 cases of spontaneous abortion. It was taken off the market in 1984. About 200,000 lawsuits were filed over injuries, infertility and several deaths. The manufacturer settled the litigation in 1989. Brought up in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Davis graduated from the University of Georgia after working as a journalist, serving in the Army during World War II and building houses in Florida. He earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins Medical School and later taught there. On Wednesday in Baltimore, Md., of pancreatic cancer.