Birth Control and Power to Women Throughout the years the methods of birth control methods have been changed since anyone can remember. Women have went from using acacia leaves with honey, to using a magic pill (PBS, People & Events: Birth Control Before the Pill). Preventing pregnancy meant choosing to wait to have a family. Since the pill was invented, it had caused women to gain power and independence. To this day, four out of five every sexually active women in the U.S. have taken oral contraceptives at some point in their lives (Bloomberg, Birth Control Pill Advanced Women's Economic Freedom). Since the methods of birth control have changed significantly, today the most common method used is the pill. Which is a type of medication …show more content…
Years ago it was more than just a pill. In the 1900’s, women saw this as a way of winning over power. The invention of this medical prescription became the perfect way to fulfill womens needs. Now that females had the choice whether to wait to have a family, they had more voice and freedom. Having this option gave women many opportunities such as getting an education or getting a job. Waiting to start a family also helped save money especially since not many were able to get a job or were poor. In the 1970’s it was normal to have girls as young as thirteen or fourteen in the workforce. “Women began demanding equality in the workplace and in the home”, says the article The Pill and the Women’s Movement. Being able to take birth control allowed women to take over control and demand respect. (The Pill and the Women’s Movement, The Birth Control). Since 1965, the number of women in labor tripled up to 26.2 million. By 2012, 82.3 million women were working. Making them equal to their husbands, some wives turned out to have make more money than their spouses. Women were getting their education and studies show that between 1960 and 2008, the percentage of women completing four or more years of college, increased from 5.8 percent to 36.1 percent. Women began getting treatment as equals of men. (The Birth Control Pill- A History, Planned …show more content…
One of the major healthcare companies such as Planned Parenthood, contributed to make the economy better for everybody. In 1998, Planned Parenthood won a legislative victory requiring prescription contraceptive drugs and devices be included in insurance coverage for all employees of the federal government. To this day Planned Parenthood is making sure Congress and states follow through. Since then the pill has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Unfortunately, not everybody agreed and saw the topic as irrelevant. In 2008, Bush administration proposed a law that cuts off limitation of correct information on reproduction. Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the “midnight regulation”(Planned Parenthood Action Center). Health care was put in danger by Bush’s administration and Planned Parenthood did not approve. However it has not succeeded just yet, a different suit has been filed separately to challenge the administration.(Planned Parenthood: Planned Parenthood Sues Bush Administration). To improve history of the pill, in 2012 to 2014, Obamacare provided zero pay for contraceptives. Health insurance is required to all FDA approved contraceptives with no pay. An estimated 30 million women now are benefitting from Obamacare. (Planned Parenthood Action
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,
There was a sex conference that was held in Sweden in 1946, eight countries showed up to this particular conference. Many knew the challenge of birth control pills, but needing to do something of the rapid global population. Birth control did not start taking effect until the 1950s. How the pill first started was made by Margaret Sanger a white women in 1916. This was huge to America, Sanger's argument was a mother can’t even afford to take care of a big family when she keeps reproducing, but does not have enough room to care for it.
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.
There are few scientific developments more associated with feminism than that of the development of the birth control pill. While it was certainly not the catalyst for the liberation of all women, it opened up a world of opportunity for many who chose to take it. For my Simmons History Research Project, I chose to look into the availability of contraception at the school. In my initial search, I hoped to find out exactly when and exactly what forms of birth control were made available to students through the school. As my research progressed, I found that while the school is extremely forthcoming about birth control today, it took a very long time for this level of openness to be reached. However, once the school was able to legally able to
Since the 1960’s, doctors have been debating on if birth control could be safely sold over the counter. Over the counter, pill access means that rather than go to the doctors' office for prescription women would be able to buy a pack from the drugstore. In the U.S., drugs like Tylenol, Advil, Claritin, and Aspirin were once prescription only and are now available over the counter. In at least 80 countries, women can buy the pill without a prescription. Birth control was designed to prevent pregnancy and a lack of contraception and sex education causes teen pregnancy and abortion rates to spiral. Not only does the pill prevent pregnancy, but can also have many health benefits for women of all ages.
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.
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
Birth control has been a controversial topic since the 1960’s, when the pill arose on the scene and gained popularity. Men and women of certain religious faiths have sought to prevent other women from using birth control. However, most women want to be able to choose when the time is right for them to have a child. This is why birth control is essential, because it allows women and couples in general the freedom to choose and plan their families. In many cases the need to control women by controlling their access to birth control goes all the way to the federal government. The federal government determines what types of birth control are allowed on the market and who has access to them. Some Presidential administrations look more kindly
Overtime, scientist created a more efficient “Stem Pessary”, by mixing synthetic estrogen and progestin to block sperm cells from reaching the ovaries. They decreased the size and made it an oral pill, making it easier to consume. The Birth Control pill wasn’t legal in the United States until 1960. “As sexual relations outside of marriage and for reasons other than childbearing became more socially acceptable and women seeking careers sought family planning methods, the environment was ripe for introduction of this discreet, easy-to-use form of contraception,” (NPR). Women started taking birth control pills daily because they were 99% effective and ultimately a cheaper option than condoms.
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.
The availability of the pill gave a different view towards women and their capacity to become successful individuals due to the power they had over their bodies. For once, women had an opportunity to think of a future career instead of staying at home with their children. It helped American women enjoy sex rather than worry about further responsibilities such as pregnancy. During 1965, a study proved that women who used oral contraceptives had sex up to 39% more than women who used other methods (Williams). This demonstrates how women took advantage of the pill by planning for futures they wouldn 't have been able to think about before. They could now be independent women. Women started challenging their exclusion from politics and the workplace and even questioned their sexual roles (“The Sexual Revolution: History, Origins & Impact”). Therefore, they also began to doubt the authority of men to make decisions for their bodies. As for men, not only did they start expecting women to have more casual affairs, but they created a stronger communication with women due to sexually transmitted diseases. The consent of women over their own bodies and their futures was made possible by the birth control pill.
By allowing women to maintain their right to have free access to birth control, it not only prevents unwanted pregnancies but it also protects women who suffer from reproductive issues, by lessening the side effects of their conditions. If that right were to be revoked or taken away, it would put reproductive health care system back into the dark ages. Maintaining the right to have free access to birth control and other reproductive health services protects not only ourselves, but future generations from the pain and heartache that happens because of lack of preventative and emergency reproductive services.
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
Birth Control is a global contraceptive that has been in use for more than 50 years. When Birth Control first came about in 1960 it was approved for married couples only, now over 10 million women married or single use this method. Most women complain about the harsh side effects of birth control but they rather put up with them before they risk having an unplanned pregnancy. Side effects such as weight gain and mood changes play a major role in the decision of birth control use. There is a saying that says, “If you knew better you would do better” most women do not even know better so they
Birth Control is defined as various ways used to prevent pregnancy from occurring. Birth Control has been a concern for humans for thousands of years. The first contraception devices were mechanical barriers in the vagina that prevented the male sperm from fertilizing the female egg. Other methods of birth control that were used in the vagina were sea sponges, mixtures of crocodile dung and honey, quinine, rock salt and alum. Birth Control was of interest for a long time, but women did not worry to much about it because child death rates were so high. They felt they needed to have many children just for a few to survive. In the early 1800's death rates began to drop and people began to show concern for controlling