PIP: Experts in the contraceptive field disagree regarding depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA). Some believe it is a highly effective, long-lasting injectable contraceptive with few serious side effects, which compares favorably with other modern methods of contraception. Others stress the possibility of carcinogenic effects, congenital defects, and infertility as a result of DMPA use. Although DMPA is used in 69 other countries, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration denied a request in March 1978 to approve the marketing of Depo-Provera, a DMPA drug manufactured by The Upjohn Company, for contraceptive use in the U.S. Issue 16(5) of the International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (IJGO) reports a recent international forum of experts which discussed the DMPA controversy. Malcolm Potts, executive Director of the International Fertility Research Program, stresses the importance of focussing attention on injectable contraceptives.