The Negative Methods Of Birth Control

For thousands of years, people have used various birth control methods to limit the number of children in their families. Birth control encompasses a wide range of devices along with rational and irrational methods that have been used in an attempt to prevent pregnancy. It has been and remains controversial. Today, birth control is an essential part of life. In fact, 99% American women of childbearing age report using some form of contraception at one time or another (NIBH). In his book, The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution, author Jonathan Eig writes "For as long as men and women have been making babies, they 've been trying not to” (Gibson). He reports that early contraceptive options offered

Since promoting birth control was still illegal in many states, the FDA approved the hormone pills for menstrual disorders, such as irregular periods or PMS. By 1960, the FDA had approved the first oral contraceptive tablet, Envoid, and by 1965 millions of women were on “The Pill”. That same year, the Supreme Court struck down state laws that prohibited contraception use, though only for married couples. Unmarried people were out of luck until 1972, when birth control was deemed legal for all (Seigel). The Pill was not without critics. Many people pointed to the contraceptive as the trigger that changed society. The fact that its rise coincided with feminism and the sexual revolution added fuel to the fire. “Some African-American leaders were especially critical of the Pill, claiming that it was being peddled in their community for the purpose of a “black genocide”(NIBH). However, nothing stopped the Pill from catching on. The Pill was an international revolution as well. Today, more than 100 million women worldwide use the Pill to prevent pregnancy. Yet access to safe and effective birth control still isn’t a universal privilege. A report from the Guttmacher Institute in 2012 found that 222 million women in developing countries want to use birth control, but are not currently able to access modern contraceptives (GLOWM). Even in the U.S., there has been a political push to restrict access. The rise of “religious bills” has also meant that hospital employees, pharmacists, and employer’s religious views on birth control can refuse to fill prescriptions or cover employee’s insurance coverage for contraception. History has shown that women and men will risk their lives or reputations for effective birth control. Restricted access to contraceptives does not necessarily mean that women will not be able to prevent pregnancies, but