The cause was congestive heart failure, her daughter, Patricia Connell, said.

As a scientist, Dr. Connell conducted research on methods of contraception, including early testing of birth control pills; served on the editorial board of a prestigious journal in her field; and wrote three books on contraception, including “The Contraception Sourcebook” (2001), a comprehensive overview of available methods and the science behind them. Later in life, she was a researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As a social activist, she helped open a women’s health clinic in East Harlem in the 1960s that is still active today as part of New York City’s public hospital system, and she argued in favor of legalizing abortion well before the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. She also raised concerns about the risks of breast implants when she led a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee.

“She helped legitimize the importance of family planning, of women’s health, the equality of women in the workplace,” Dr. Richard Derman, the associate provost for global affairs at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and a former colleague, said in an interview.

In 1970, when she was an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Connell chided a congressional subcommittee for questioning the safety of birth control pills. The questioning had caused “panic” among women and led to “dozens of unwanted pregnancies,” she said.

“She was wise to point out in the 1970s and 1980s that although many women thought the battle had been won in terms of access to contraception, et cetera, there were still people undermining access,” Dr. Emans said.