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Risks of using contraceptives
History of contraception essay
Birth control movement 1960s
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The Center for Disease Control conducted a study on contraceptive use; their findings concluded “four out of five women have used birth control pills” during one point of their lives (Basset). Birth control pills have been around for over six decades, and their popularity has significantly increased during the past decade. Thousands of sexually-active women are turning to birth control pills as a way to prevent unplanned pregnancy, regulate periods, and to control acne. Nonetheless, birth control pills are synthetic hormones that influence the female body in severe ways. In fact, doctors and media are not presenting the menaces of consuming birth control pills in women; instead, they disguise the risks with commercials of synchronized swimmers. The risks of consuming these toxic pills outweigh the benefits; women must become aware of the effects birth control is having on their bodies and find alternatives to pharmaceutical contraceptives.
In 1960, birth control was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for contraceptive use (Nikolchev). Since then, birth control pills have had a tremendous impact in the American culture. Women were now able to prevent unplanned pregnancy without the consent of their partners and eliminating the use of condoms and other dual consent birth control methods. Birth control pills contain two important hormones: estrogen and progesterone. Natural estrogen is a hormone that is produced in the ovaries and helps regulate the menstrual cycle (Rettner). According to Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Steven Goldstein, “progesterone is a hormone that stimulates and regulates important functions, playing a role in maintaining pregnancy, preparing the body for conception and regulating the menstrua...
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...b. 21 Mar. 2014.
Hergenrader, Jamie. "The Dangerous Side of Birth Control." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 31 July 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
High Blood Pressure and Women." American Heart Association. The American Heart Association, 05 Feb. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Nikolchev, Alexandra. "A Brief History of the Birth Control Pill." PBS. PBS, 07 May 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2014
"Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk." Cancer.gov. National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health, 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014
Rettner, Rachael. "What Is Estrogen?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 20 July 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
"Sexual Health, Birth Control And Condoms." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
"What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Pulmonary Embolism?" National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute. National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Since 1912 Sanger had dreamed of a pill that would provide cheap, safe, and effective contraception. In 1951 Margaret Sanger met Dr. Gregory Pincus, a biologist whose expertise was in the field of fertility. Planned Parenthood Federation of America provided a grant to research the effect of progesterone on ovulation. Dr. Pincus’ research supported earlier findings that progesterone acts as an inhibitor to ovulation. With these findings, Margaret Sanger was able to convince Katherine McCormick, a wealthy heiress, to provide the funding for Dr. Gregory Pincus to develop the first birth control
Subsequently, the provided documents on the birth control movement did show the push and pull factors of the complicated and multifaceted debate. Americas push towards industrial growth, and technology demanded that the subsequent progressive reforms were needed for a society ushering in a new era. At the same time, fear and reluctance to abandon tradition and religious custom acted as the pulling factor. The birth control debate was a complicated and heavily charged debate teemed in religious, social, political, and racial rhetoric. Historical documents help shed new light on the things taken for granted today, even the most seemingly innocuous things like birth control were fought for, so that men and women today could be in charge of their own destinies.
This lecture on the Pill will focus on the introduction, controversies, and outcome of women’s control of contraception during the mid 20th century. It will also discuss how the Pill became an influential stepping-stone for women activists. I chose to focus this discussion on three questions. First, what did the Pill teach us about the role of women in the middle 20th century? Second, what were the arguments for and against the Pill? Lastly, how safe was the Pill and what effects did women experience from taking it? By centering in on these questions, I hope to provide insight on the struggles women faced before and after this birth control technology became readily available to women in the United States.
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.
educating women more on the pill and the way it works, the after effects of
Watkins, E. (2012). How the pill became a lifestyle drug: the pharmaceutical industry and birth
Watkins, Elizabeth Siegel. Genesis Of The Pill. On the Pill: A Social History of Oral
million women used this method in the U.K, which is 1 in every 3 women
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.
The Morality of Birth control originally surfaced as a pamphlet in 1918, which questioned the morality of denying knowledge surrounding a drug which could prevent pregnancy women. In 1913 Margaret Sanger worked as a nurse in a New York. There Sanger watched one woman fall ill from a household abortion. The doctor told this women to avoid pregnancy she should “have her husband sleep on the roof” (Richmond Edu, Par. 7). A few months later Sanger found the same women dead after a second self-inflicted abortion. This horrendous event pushed Sanger to advocate a right she believed all woman should have.
What exactly is birth control? Birth control means things that can be done to ensure that pregnancy only happens if and when wanted. Nowadays there are a great variety of ways to assure birth control. However, there is only one way that can be considered 100 percent secure. The more it is known about birth control options, the better chances of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy and reducing the risks of getting a sexually transmitted disease, including AIDS.
Birth control pills should be removed from general consumption because of physical changes, emotional changes, and synthetic hormones. Birth control pills are very dangerous it could come with a lot affects. The few effect that birth control pills come with is that is more serious, although rare woman that take the pill are in the risk of having a heart attacks, high blood pressure, blood clots, strokes, liver tumor, and gallstone. These effects are most likely not to happen to woman the chances are very low. A woman is more at risk if she is overweight and older than 35 years old of having a heart attack or stroke.
Who should be responsible for stopping the 120 million sperm that are released during a male orgasm from fertilizing a female’s egg? The context of that question has been a societal debate in terms of the consequences of unplanned pregnancy and whether it is a female, male or both sexes responsibility to practice “safe sex”. Introducing the birth control pill for women in the 1960s created a huge controversy between sexual conservatives and the women who would benefit from the pill, but the responsibility still remained in the hands of women. However, as medicine has advanced and the possibility of a male birth control pill has amounted, many wonder if the same issues would arise if a male birth control pill did in fact become available. In order to understand the effects on society of both individual female and male responsibilities it is essential that the women birth control pill is discussed, the male pill and lastly, what the stigmas and potential effects of both birth control pills mean.
"People and Events: The Pill and the Sexual Revolution." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.