Argumentative Essay On Birth Control

1133 Words5 Pages

In typical circumstances, approximately 80% of couples can conceive naturally in two years or less, however many couples will experience issues conceiving or with infertility (Mother for Life, 2012). Not everyone is ready to conceive, so there are precautions that are able to be taken to help prevent unexpected or unwanted pregnancies. The birth control pill comes in two options, the combined pill which contains progesterone and estrogen or the progesterone-only pill (mini pill). The estrogen and progesterone combined pill will stop the ovaries from releasing an egg each cycle as it usually would, and is 99.7% effective. Irregular taking of the pill, diarrhea, vomiting, (The Women's - The Royal Women's Hospital, n.d.) taking any of the following …show more content…

During the time of this movement, majority of American states had laws that prohibited the release of information on birth control under the Comstock laws (The Birth Control Pill, n.d.). The first birth control clinic was opened in Brownsville, Brooklyn and the American Birth Control League was initiated by Margaret Sanger, an activist, in 1914-1921. The American Birth Control League is now known as Planned Parenthood. In 1952, an endocrinologist by the name of Gregory Pincus began experiments of the hormone progesterone on rats, and was successful. Pincus then met a gynecologist, John Rock, who had already begun trialing women on chemical contraceptives, however it wasn’t until 1954 that the pair began doing human trials on 50 women and were successful in their results. In Puerto Rico, there weren’t any anti-birth control laws, so clinical trials were completed in 1956 on a significantly larger number of patients. Ignoring the severe side effects which some of these women suffered, the pill was deemed 100% effective. The pill was approved by the FDA in the US but only for significantly debilitating and severe menstrual disorders in 1957, and three years later was approved as a contraceptive. However, the pill was …show more content…

The amount of estrogen in each pill can vary on the dosage, it is usually between 20-35 micrograms, but either dose will have both positive and negative side effects (The Bedsider, 2017). Some of the positive effects of the combined pill may be: a woman has a more regular bleed and a reduced blood loss each cycle; improves acne; improvement of PMS and symptoms such as cramps and mood changes prior to the withdrawal bleed (The Women's - The Royal Women's Hospital, n.d.). However, there are also negative effects to take into consideration, depending on the individual and their medical history. The common ones include: nausea; vomiting; stomach cramps; bloating; diarrhea; constipation; gingivitis; increased or decreased appetite; weight gain or weight loss; brown or black skin patches; acne; hair growth in unusual places; bleeding or spotting between menstrual periods; changes in menstrual flow; painful or missed periods; breast tenderness; enlargement or discharge; swelling, redness, irritation, burning or itching of the vagina; white vaginal discharge (MedlinePlus, 2018). Women who have a medical history of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, undiagnosed vaginal bleeding, uncontrolled high blood pressure or heart disease, chest pains, severe headaches, uncontrolled diabetes,