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History of birth control thesis
History of birth control essay
History of birth control essay
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Gendering of Contraception
Would you like to be on the receiving end of a snakeskin condom?
Men and women have been using birth control for thousands of years. Typically though if you look to the past there has been a big difference in how and why contraception was used for the opposite sexes. Focus on actual birth control in history was mainly up to the woman, while men's contraception was focused on preventing disease. This can be taken back to one of the earliest known uses of the condom. Roman soldiers used sheepskin condoms not to prevent pregnancy but to fight disease. Documentation of the Chinese on the other hand shows that 4000 years ago woman in the culture were drinking mercury to prevent pregnancy. This is a continuing trend. Findings in the past not only show that there was a difference in the use of contraception between the sexes but there was also a distinct comfort ability level of the devices themselves. One example you can find of this is Casanova's use of a linen condom, not saying that its comfort ability compares to male condoms of today, but most would find it more soothing than a female device of the time deemed the "box". Ladies of the time period would insert the "box", a 6-sided concaved wooden object, inside their vagina hoping to block whatever semen might try to escape. Needless to say the "box" was declared a torture device and its use was stopped.
Even to this day contraception has been more focused on the female. When you think of possible male contraception techniques only three exist, a fourth hormonal technique being in development. The three include use of the condom, withdrawal, and vasectomy. On the other hand when u look at what options the female has the list is numerous. A few being jellies, female condoms, pessaries, intrauterine devices, condoms, birth control pills, and barriers.
The article “Birth control: World of Invention, 2006 Updated: April 30, 2006” defines birth control as, “contraception or the use of physical barriers, timing of sexual intercourse, chemicals, or a combination of these methods to prevent pregnancy. Many methods have been designed for women 's use, but few are available to men. There are quite a few reasons to use some form of birth control. The main one being to avoid pregnancy. Other reasons could be to prevent contracting an STD/STI and regulate hormone levels in order to control one’s menstrual cycle.
The fact that the only physician to support contraceptives was a woman speaks volumes about the disconnect between the male and female perspective on the issue. It begs the question: Can a man objectively weigh in on this issue? Since inarguably both the physical sacrifice and emotional burden of carrying to term and caring for an unwanted child lay solely on the
When legally introduced to society in 1960, the Pill stirred up a long period of controversy. The availability of the Pill had great impact on women’s health, social life, laws, religion, family, relationships, morality and sexuality. Initially conceived to be highly effective and safe, the Pill left many women with side effects – few which led to several fatalities. Before the Pill was created, many women postponed sex due to the social norm and fear of becoming pregnant before marriage. Families grew large and it was typical for a woman to have multiple children caused by the lack of birth control. Due to regulations, such as the Comstock laws, many people supported the prohibition of the Pill and other family planning practices. However, many women believed in the right to control their own body when it came to procreation. Despite the controversies, the Pill left lasting impacts, such as by opening society to the sexual revolution and...
A thin, stretchy sheath about two inches in diameter and six to eight inches long, designed to be worn over penis during sex. Condoms form a physical barrier between penis and the vagina. After ejaculation the tip of the condom holds the semen and prevents it from traveling to woman's reproductive system to fertilize the egg.
Since the sixteenth century, one of the most important roles of mothers, or women in general, was to have children. Although most women accepted this role and believed it was their duty to have children, not every woman was pleased with this seemingly confining role. Within the confines of this role there were also many misconceptions. At the time, most people believed that although male involvement was necessary for the conception of children, women controlled many aspects of the child, including the sex of the child. While it was a common belief that women controlled certain aspects of pregnancy, women really had no control over when and if they got pregnant. Prior to the eighteenth century there was really no indication of widespread use of birth control methods. Without reliable birth control, women would often become a mother within their first year of marriage and continue to have children every couple of years until menopause. Although women during this time period experienced high birth rates, they often did not end up raising nearly as many children as they gave birth to, since the infant mortality rate and death rate were very high. With such a high death rate, birth control was not as necessary as it would be in a more modern...
For centuries women have tried many means to prevent pregnancy. As far back as the
In the early Middle Ages and long before this time, contraception and birth control were easily discussable and were common conversations among people until the mid-fourteenth century (McFarlane & Meier). So why did this information disappear and why is it so difficult to talk about this today? Right about the time that the witch trials began, many birth control methods were lost. It is said to be that most midwives (a person who delivers babies), were killed as witches in the trials, therefore losing information about old contraception methods (McFarlane & Meier). It is then easy to see why birth control and contraception methods were no longer talked about, as they were associated with witches. But in today’s world, about 99% of women
These birth control methods make semi-safe sex possible. *** A ban on birth control would mean acts of unprotected intercourse because the lack of protection wouldn’t stop people from having sex. Therefore women who might not be responsible enough for children or just didn’t want them would end up aborting the children they just simply weren’t ready to have. (Dail)
The first form of birth control came in the form a pill and was approved by the FDA in 1960(qtd in Gladwell ) The pill was said to be the safest form of birth control because it was safe and said to be a natural form of birth control. John Rock was a well know man around the community. Loretta McLaughlin writes, "It was his name and his reputation that gave ultimate validity to the claims that the pill would protect women against unwanted pregnancy.”(qdt in Gladwell) Even back then, with all the research that they set out to do the pill was still know to cause cancer in young women, not only cancer but the miscarrying of children shortly after taking the pill.
Although birth control has been practiced since ancient times, the first organized efforts developed during the 19th century as population increased dramatically because of improved medical care, nutrition, and sanitation. However, birth control met with resistance. In 1873 the United States Congress enacted the Comstock Law, which prohibited the distribution of birth-control devices and information.
In this paper, my aim is to argue that Don Marquis ' claim that abortions are immoral is flawed due to the objection of contraception. Marquis ' argument is built around the idea that morality on killing a human being is not based on taking away the victim 's life but rather through taking away their valuable future. "The category that is morally central to this analysis is the category of having a valuable future like ours; it is not the category of personhood"( Marquis, 192). He elaborates on this notion by reasoning that, except in extreme circumstances, killing an adult human is morally wrong because "killing inflicts (one of) the greatest possible losses on the victim...The change in biological state does not by itself make killing wrong...[Death]
The most commonly used methods of birth control are the condom and the pills. The pill is taken once a day and a pack should be completed every month. Combination pills contain estrogen and progestin. Others are progestin-only. Pills contain hormones that work in different ways. The condoms are a sheath made of thin latex or plastic to cover the penis before intercourse to keep sperm from joining egg. No matter how old one is , it is very important to use condoms with another method of birth.
Contraception, contragestion, (preventing the fertilized egg from implantation - morning-after-pill) and the chemical or surgical induction of abortion are all types of birth control routes to prevent or end pregnancy (“What”). Contraception is the devices, drugs, agents, sexual practices, or surgical procedures to prevent a pregnancy. Contraception tends to help a women decide if and when she would want to have a baby (“What”). There are around 17 different types of birth control methods. According to the article from Oxford there are three main categories of contraception. They are the barrier methods, intrauterine, and the hormonal methods (“Contraception”). They vary from a pill, patch, shot, an implant and a condom to name a few. The most common type of contraception for women is the birth control pill. This pill includes estrogen and progestin to stop the release of the egg and thin the lining of the uterus. If the contraception device is used correctly, only about 3 in every 1,000 women will beco...
Furthermore, birth control has made a huge impact on society. Whether people view it as negative or positive it has allowed for change and sexual responsibility. Therefore, if eventually both male and female have the option to take or be injected with a form of birth control then who knows that revolutions that could bring forth.
Far and away the most common method of birth control today is the birth control pill. The pill is relatively easy to obtain through Planned Parenthood clinics, the price is not unreasonable, and the pill has an excellent record of success in pregnancy prevention. However, the pill places all the burden of birth control on women, and although it is usually the women who have the most to lose in unwanted pregnancy, shouldn't [GR#1] men take some of the responsibility for birth control, too? Plus, the pill is something that users must remember to take every day, even if they do not engage in sex for months or years. The pill may have the added advantages of making menstrual cycles more regular, and decreasing the sometimes painful intensity of a woman's periods, but as far as being purely a method of birth control, the pill has drawbacks, too. Besides being something that the user must remember to take each and every day regardless of the frequency of sexual activity, being on the pill involves visits to the doctor's office or to Planned Parenthood with annual or even more frequent exams and tests that may be unpleasant and cost more money.