When the birth control pill was approved by the FDA in 1960, new advantages arose for women with managing unwanted pregnancies, reducing population size, regulating menstrual cycles, and relieving PMS side effects. This pill took years to get accepted by today’s society and went through many different court cases. It not only gave women the choice of procreation, but it also helped women manage many undesirable bodily functions. With this development, many new opportunities and benefits arose. It closed the end of the Baby Boomer generation and sparked Generation X.
I. Life Before the Pill Birth control has a long history. It is recorded that people have tried to use lemons, crocodile feces, and sheaths as spermicides. In ancient China, women
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In 1957, the FDA approved the pill, but only for women with menstrual disorders and repeated miscarriages. Personal choice was not an option (“Birth Control”). By 1959, half a million women took the pills, but not many took it for the “approved” problems. Thankfully, a year later, the FDA allowed the drug for contraceptive use. By the time the pill was set and completed, the Baby Boomer generation was just about over (“Birth Control”). The pill was an instant hit and launched a rise in sexual expression, but it was still controversial. A lot of people believed you shouldn’t try to mess with natural body processes and intercourse should only be used for procreation, while others disagreed (“Birth …show more content…
“In Europe 1960, the average total fertility rate was 2.6, and hormonal contraception was non-existent. Forty years later, the TFR was 1.4 and almost 18% of all women of reproductive age living in a marital or consensual union were using hormonal contraception” (“Overpopulation”). Contraception reduces family sizes which allow a great proportion of resources to be handed to each child. This can improve opportunities for nutrition, healthcare, and education (“Overpopulation”). “Contraception empowers women by giving them reproductive control. By deferring pregnancy, this helps restore opportunities for education, employment, and social and political advancement” (“Overpopulation”). Supporting this is an effortless way for more developed countries to help less developed cope with crises in size and shifting of