Argumentative Essay: The Right To Birth Control

The Right to Birth Control To give birth whenever you choose to or to let motherhood come naturally? This question has been a sensitive topic since the introduction of birth control to women. Birth control has been around for many years, constantly changing and improving. Everyone has a different opinion on it and its use. Many believe that birth control does more harm than it does good. Though many do not agree, the access to birth control is highly important. We will see this through the control that it gives women over their lives, its success rate and ability to lower pregnancy rates. In the discussion of birth control, one issue has always been the risks associated with it. Some people that are against it argue that it increases the …show more content…
Opponents tend to use the health risks associated with contraception use as leverage for their argument against birth control. Despite these risks, birth control should be accessible to all women because these risks vary among them and for many different reasons. The reason why birth control is not available over the counter is because women must be evaluated by doctors beforehand. Doctors asks a series of questions that help determine the method and dosage of birth control that they will prescribe. As stated by Eldridge, “…certain preexisting conditions make contraceptive use more dangerous” (46). A woman that has a family history of obesity, abnormal blood clotting, migraines, and tends to smoke has a higher chance of being affected by said health risks. For example, a woman with a history of blood clots would be prescribed oral contraception with a low estrogen dosage. With the ongoing issue of things like paid maternity leave and societal views constantly changing, it is no longer logical to assume that all women want to have children or should have children. The Pew Research Center conducted a study in 2010 that showed that, “nearly one-in-five American women ends her childbearing years without having born a child, compared with one-in-ten in the 1970s.” Some women choose to not have and or bear children for many reasons that may include health. Some simply do not desire motherhood. In addition to this, the Guttmacher Institute concluded that, most American families only want two children and in order to do so, women spend thirty years trying to avoid an unintended pregnancy. As stated by Jessica Valenti, a feminist writer, an implication of these two situations, would be, “…to refrain from sex or use contraception for 25 years.” Both of these decisions are