Leah Martin Strauss: A Short Story

Birth control is utilized by a large portion of sexually active women in the United States (Planned Parenthood). Its benefits are innumerable. The uses of birth control spread through a wide variety of domains, from the prevention of diseases, to the treatment of disorders ranging from anemia to endometriosis. It can be used in conjunction with condoms in order to assure effectiveness and, as a whole, allows women to take control of certain aspects of their futures. Birth control is a fundamental aspect of many women’s lives and yet it remains a point of

Women in today’s society have never known a time when contraceptive options were not available to them. As a general statement, acquiring some sort of contraceptives whether it is the pill, patch, condom, emergency contraception, or another of the many types of birth control is not difficult with the many options available to women today. However, backtrack to the early 1900’s and the story was completely different. In 1916, Margaret Sanger made contraceptive history by opening the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, New York. The fight for birth control began. It was not until years later in 1960 that the birth control pill was approved by the Food and Drug Administration and since then many other varieties of birth control have made their way into the market (Kim & Wasik, 2011). Today, thanks to those like Margaret Sanger who fought for contraceptives, women and couples who wish to avoid pregnancy have more choices than ever before. (Egarter et al, 2013; Perry, 2015).

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

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.

My name is Hailey Lynn Jones. My favorite sports are volleyball, softball and dance. I’ve been playing volleyball for one year now and i love it! Its probably my favorite sport. Ive been playing softball since fourth grade and its really fun to play. I usually play first or second base. Dance i've been doing dance since I was five years old and I used to do ballet and jazz, but now I do hip hop.

With her husband's outrages and seclusion, she did her best by taken care of the situation with care and calmness, especially in front of her children. Surely, when alone, she would breakdown from the pressure, sadness and changes. A family that would once take walks together on Sundays now had to deal with the father's outrages and drinking problems. Ben, the narrator, was only eight years old at the time and even his young fragile mind noticed that his life would forever be different.

Devlin, a 13-year-old boy, knows all too well what it feels like to be left behind. He was already subjected to a tough life, living with his three younger siblings – Tracy, Zachary and Sammy – until his mother began dating yet another horrible boyfriend. This one was different. ‘Greg’ was abusive towards her and harassed the children. Every time Devlin’s mother would check to see why the kids were crying her boyfriend would always point the finger at Devlin, who found no use in arguing back. With the arrival of a new sister, Jade, Devlin’s mother was tipped over the edge, finally deciding to send him to a foster home. Over the years Devlin had managed to run away from each home just as fast as his social worker, Aroha, could place him in them.

Kathryn Legros looked at the violin in her hands and smiled at herself in the mirror, admiring the outfit her younger sister, Lise, had chosen.

Molly has lived in over a dozen foster homes so far. She has been mistreated, taught bad things, and deprived of a safe place at times. “She’s been spanked with a spatula, slapped across the face, made to sleep on an unheated sun porch in the winter, taught to roll a joint by a foster father, and even fed lies for the social worker.”(Kline 49). Molly has lived a very hard life, and although it was not the exact same as Vivian’s, she was still able to talk to Vivian, allowing her to understand she is not alone. She was raised in homes that did not provide her with support, values, and some did not provide proper housing. Even so, with all that has happened to Molly she has learned the importance of

“The pill is one of the best-studied medicines on the market for women, and certainly safe enough to be available with no prescription. Teens and women should have an easier access to birth control, even if it is just the pill. A known safe method of birth control. Most teens and young women go on the pill even if it is just a trial pill to see how effective it is and how can work for. Some girls can not use certain types of the birth control pills. Their body is affected by it differently, and reacts to different. Other research states that women and teenage girls would stay on longer if it was over the counter rather than prescription. Major medical societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Family Physicians, support OTC (over the counter) access to the pill,” (Grossman 2015). Studies show that women and teen girls are very interested in getting the pill over the counter including some women who are not even on the pill to begin with and currently are sexually active but also do not want to get pregnant. This study suggests that over the counter pill could lead to more women and teens using oral contraception and practicing safe

This keeps sperm from getting to the eggs. It's very convenient and safe." The doctor, Dr. Valdez spoke, informing my grandmother and me about the Birth control patch I had decided to get instead of the birth control pills. At least, I won't have to remember to take a pill everyday, I thought with a

The pharmaceutical field has overcome countless medical feats since the early times. While “the pill” itself was considered a brand new invention, the idea of creating a birth control pill was not. Since the old times primitive condoms were made from animal intestines and fish bladders. However, it wasn’t until after Margaret Sanger’s multiple convictions and persistent attitude, that a judge ended the Comstock era, providing Sanger with the opportunity to stress the importance of having birth control in th for of a pill to the public.

Nemours, a children’s health organization, created pamphlet for doctors’ offices geared towards parents and teens who have questions about common issues in the realm of sexual health. They define “the pill” as an oral contraceptive, “a daily pill that usually contains the hormones estrogen and progesterone, and is taken to prevent pregnancy.” Other points discussed in the pamphlet include the safety of

Her mother had addiction issues that contributed to volatility in her home life-- her sister had a different father and neither dad was consistently present for their upbringing. Trena experiences moderate feelings of ambivalence toward her mother, stating that if anything happened to her, she would prefer that her sister raise her son, Keith, rather than her mother, because her mother’s parenting style contributed to Trena’s own addiction issues (personal communication, 2016). She has, however, been recently engaged in rebuilding her relationship with her mother. Trena currently enjoys and deeply values a good relationship with her sister, to whom she looks up to, is sporadically engaged with her uncle (helping him—he has physical and mental health issues) and is very close with her son. Trena’s sister, Jennifer, recently had a new baby and is involved in a healthy relationship with a responsible and loving partner. Trena’s respect for her sister is considerable and is largely due to the fact that Jennifer has rebuilt her life after spending time in prison and losing her previous children. Jennifer is now very stable and is growing her skills with a goal of working in social

Alexia Daley who was a thirteen-year-old girl she lives on a little mountain almost the size of a large hill in a small town. When the sun goes down and you are on the small mountain, there is a beautiful sundown. The sundown was all different coolers and some people come to visit the small town just to see the sun when it goes down. Alexia Daley had a special stone. She had found it when she was with Yipes who was one of her friend he had made her look for the special stone in a small pond that was connected to a small waterfall and a small river in the forest that he lives at. She was at home in side of her house sitting in a soft chair which happens to be one of her favret chars to site in. in the living room of their house that she shared