Introduction The discovery of birth control has dramatically changed the lives of women across the world. In past generations, it was common for women to become pregnant at a very young age. Today, more and more are choosing to have kids later in life once they have established their careers or are ready to “settle down”. One main reason for this shift in behavior is birth control because it provides women the choice of preventing pregnancy until they decide otherwise. Despite the fact that it is used by millions of women, many people do not know all of the many types of birth control, how they work, and the medical risks associated with them. It is important that we learn the many unknowns about birth control, including its’ history, so
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This was not always the case, however, as stated in the article “A History of Birth Control Methods” by Planned Parenthood author Jon Knowles (2012). Centuries ago, women in China would ingest lead and mercury as a form of birth control which often resulted in death (Knowles, 2012). In European Middle Ages, magicians told women to hang a weasel’s foot around their neck (Knowles, 2012, p. 1). These examples tell us that throughout most of history people did not understand how women became pregnant let alone how to prevent it. In fact, 15,000-year-old paintings in France depict men using condoms, a barrier method still used today, but they were only worn for sexual or ritual reasons (Knowles, 2012, p.1). Over centuries, scientific research and experimentation has evolved birth control so much that it is now easily accessible. The President of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards (2016), once said in an interview that since its’ legalization fifty years ago, birth control has revolutionized our society (Richards, 2016, para. 1). Richards believes it has become an essential part of health care for women and has allowed women to have more control over their lives (Richards, 2016, para. 4, 11). It is not hard to agree with this statement since birth control is now more common and widely used than ever before. Fortunately, scientists have developed many different types of contraceptives for both men and
This was not always the case, however, as stated in the article “A History of Birth Control Methods” by Planned Parenthood author Jon Knowles (2012). Centuries ago, women in China would ingest lead and mercury as a form of birth control which often resulted in death (Knowles, 2012). In European Middle Ages, magicians told women to hang a weasel’s foot around their neck (Knowles, 2012, p. 1). These examples tell us that throughout most of history people did not understand how women became pregnant let alone how to prevent it. In fact, 15,000-year-old paintings in France depict men using condoms, a barrier method still used today, but they were only worn for sexual or ritual reasons (Knowles, 2012, p.1). Over centuries, scientific research and experimentation has evolved birth control so much that it is now easily accessible. The President of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards (2016), once said in an interview that since its’ legalization fifty years ago, birth control has revolutionized our society (Richards, 2016, para. 1). Richards believes it has become an essential part of health care for women and has allowed women to have more control over their lives (Richards, 2016, para. 4, 11). It is not hard to agree with this statement since birth control is now more common and widely used than ever before. Fortunately, scientists have developed many different types of contraceptives for both men and