The Controversy Surrounding Oral Contraception

Today, the availability of birth control is taken for granted. There was a time, not long passed, during which the subject was illegal (“Margaret Sanger,” 2013, p.1). That did not stop the resilient leader of the birth control movement. Margaret Sanger was a nurse and women’s activist. While working as a nurse, Sanger treated many women who had suffered from unsafe abortions or tried to self-induce abortion (p.1). Seeing this devastation and noting that it was mainly low income women suffering from these problems, she was inspired to dedicate her life to educating women on family planning—even though the discussion of which was highly illegal at the time (p.1). She was often in trouble with

Carl Djerassi was a chemist in Mexico city that created the first pill that synthesized hormones in 1951. In 1957 the FDA approved the pills for women with menstrual disorders but just three years later the pill was released for sexual protection. Some states still made this drug illegal and it went against many people’s morals. In 1997 the pill was expanded to treat acne (A Brief History 1-2). The pill has come a long way and is still continuing to form in this evolving society. Less than seventy years ago we didn’t even have an oral option for birth control. Today we are fighting over whether the pill can be available over the counter or not.

One of the most significant happenings that the Birth Control Movement was responsible for was the creation of the birth control pill. In 1948, Margaret Sanger, biologist Gregory Pincus and physician John Rock began to research and develop the birth control pill. It got approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960 (Kaufman). This oral contraception is a type of medication that women take daily to prevent pregnancy because these pills contain hormone that prevent a woman’s eggs from leaving the ovaries and making cervical mucus thicker which keeps the sperm from getting to the eggs (Planned Parenthood). Plannedparenthood.org stated that within five years of its approval, the birth control pill was used by one out of every married women

In the mid-1800s American women united to participate in social reforms movements more than ever before. This movement’s involved: struggle to abolish slavery, outlaw alcohol, and ban child labor among others (Rupp, 1987). Despite the failure of the women's movement to attain one among its primary goals, the passage of the ERA , the movement overall accomplished an excellent deal. For several women activists, management over their bodies was a central issue in the campaign. Women needed to be liberated to explore and control their gender, while not being judged by society. An oversized a part of management during this arena concerned having access to birth control, or contraception ways (Fishman, 1998). The contraception pill, associate inoculant,

In 1917, Margaret Sanger was arrested for distributing contraception pessirie to a immigrant women. Margaret Sanger, was a nurse, mother, sex educator, writer and most importantly an activist. Sanger, fought for women’s rights which one of the main one was to legalize birth control in America. During the process of fighting Sanger establish the American Birth Control League, now called Planned Parenthood. Sanger fund money to Grisworld the created of the hormonal birth control pill the dream of Sanger. Sanger, “wanted to have it all, and was birth control as the necessary condition for the resolution of their often conflicting needs.” (Chesler 25). Birth control has always been a colossal issue since it was invention in the 1960s by Griswold and has remained and extraordinarily controversial topic since. Therefore, if teenagers get their parent’s consent for birth control, teens will still manage to get their way and have sex, parent will think they are unhealthy, and last some parent would want their female teenager conserve until marriage. Meanwhile, if they do not get the parental consent, teenage will be encouraged to be more sexually active, female teenage will know they are safe on not getting pregnant, and it will encourage female be promiscuous.

To the question “Why the Woman Rebel?” Sanger wrote “Because I believe that deep down in woman’s nature lies slumbering the spirit of revolt” and “Because I believe that through the efforts of individual revolution will woman’s freedom emerge”. Both highlight how birth control was not a mere technique to personal freedom, but an avenue to power. These quotes emphasize Sanger’s belief that the birth control pill would unleash the spirit of freedom amongst women. She did not argue for the open distribution of contraceptive to promote personal freedom. However, she believed that limitation on family size would free women from the dangers of childbearing and give them the opportunity to become active outside the home. In addition, Document 1 acknowledges birth control’s ability to bring about radical social class change. Sanger includes her belief that women are “enslaved by the world machine…middle-class morality”. Her idea of social change not only involved embracing the liberation of woman, but also the working class. It is believed that the birth control campaign succeeded as it became “a movement by and for the middle class”. Birth control provided middle-class women the opportunity to plan families without the stress of balancing growing expenses for a child that was not planned for. In The Woman Rebel Sanger introduces birth control’s larger mission of power and opportunity for women while incorporating the basis of social class.

The Birth Control Movement of 1912 in the United States had a significant impact on Women’s Reproductive Rights. Women in the 1800s would frequently die or have complications during or after childbirth. Even if the woman would have died, they would still have a great amount of children. As the years progressed into the 1900s, the amount of children being born dropped. Because of this, birth control supplements were banned, forcing women to have a child that she was not prepared for or did not want to have in the first place.

In the 1950s, birth control pills were introduced in the United States (Windsor, 2002). Over the past seven decades, the pill has changed the American women’s lives in several ways. The pills have allowed women to delay marriages, invest in their career development, and secure well-paid jobs in areas that were previously dominated by men. The pill has also improved family relationships and prevented abuse and marriage dissolutions. This paper explores the history of birth control methods in the US and how the pill became available on a large scale to women. The paper further examines how the pills has given women the freedom to advance their careers, strengthen the marriage relationships, and participate in the workforce.

Although societies with rigorous rules such as the ancient Greeks practiced the use of birth control and the invention of modern contraceptive methods---such as condoms, diaphragms, and douches---have been around since the early 1800’s, birth control still did not prevail in the twentieth century and was highly controversial. Margaret Sanger gave people a new and radical ideology stating how birth control helped women in many more ways than their sexuality. Sanger published many literature pieces about her opinions on options and freedom for women in society. Several other women and doctors acknowledged her argument by broadcasting it during the Progressive Era. When the 1920’s came around,

Before the introduction of modern birth control, gender roles emphasized the responsibility of women to conceive and raise children. Although this began to change in the in the mid-twentieth century, with the introduction of the first hormonal birth control pill, Enovid, taking place in 1960, it was not readily accessible during that time period (Buttar and Seward, 2009, p. 1-3). This did not change during the time period immediately following the introduction either; five years after the introduction of Enovid, there was still controversy surrounding the use of contraceptives. In the Supreme Court case of Griswold v. Connecticut, the legality of birth control on the market was debated, and the case concluded with the allowance of hormonal contraceptives, but it was limited to married couples only under the right of marital privacy (George and Lewis, 2016, p. 1). The controversy and secrecy that surrounded the use of birth control shortly after its introduction indicates that although it was certainly present and used in society during this time period, it still carried the negative social connotations of the past, which prevented it from being socially normalized. In contrast, the standardization of birth control in society took place decades later, from approximately the 1990 to 2010s.

One of the many purposes of birth control is to avoid unwanted pregnancies. In this day and age the decision to take birth control should be a mere right and not a debate, but society has still not fully accepted the use of birth control even though “ninety-eight percent of women use birth control at some point in their lives” (Milligan, 2014, p. 3). Birth control has unfortunately earned a negative stigma because it allows women to have sex without getting pregnant and that is frowned upon throughout parts of society. Some members of society have even compared the use of birth control to abortion. Women who choose to take birth control should not be judged and the use of birth control amongst women should no longer be considered disgraceful. The reliable access to birth control should be made available to all women no matter their race, age, and class.

Oral birth control in the United States has a long history of controversy. For many years after it was legalized for married couples it was still considered taboo to talk about. So of course, Loretta Lynn, appropriately named Queen of Country, wrote and performed a song about it. This spunky, out spoken, record setting country goddess saw absolutely no qualm when it came to discussing, “the pill”. Although this ground-breaking song on the birth control forefront might seem revolutionary, it was nothing new for an artist like Lynn, who characteristically wrote songs about the hushed aspects of domestic life. Loretta Lynn’s song, “The Pill”, pushed social boundaries in the 1970’s by encouraging married women, especially in rural areas, to take control of their lives with the use of oral birth control. Lynn did so by informing rural women of the normalcy of oral birth control.

Within the pro-choice world there are many issues that are discussed like abortion, the instant where life begins and the use of contraceptives. This article will focus on not only the issue of using of contraceptives, but specifically the distribution of oral contraceptives (“the pill”) to teenage girls without their parent’s consent.

In 1960, the first oral contraceptive, Envoid, was introduced to the United States and approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a method of birth control(Thompson). Oral contraceptives, like all contraceptives, reduced the chances of getting pregnant. The major difference of this method is that it altered the hormones that a woman's body released. The introduction of the pill drastically changed many aspects of society, one being that women and men were now able to have absolute power over their method of contraceptive.

Birth control came about from women who were obligated to have families and not letting it be a choice. Many women have heard about contraceptives that are advertised on tv, magazines, and even from a family doctor. Women knew very little of what birth control could do or even prevent. Women thought that just by taking birth control it could prevent pregnancy. They were not well informed that all body