The contraceptive pill commonly known as ‘the pill’ has transformed the lives of many people around the world especially women as it has enabled them to be elevated to the same playing field as men in the industrial world.
The idea of the pill began with the Austrian Ludwig Haberlandt who is described as the father of the contraceptive pill. He carried out important hormonal contraception research on animals in the 1920’s and early 30’s (Haberlandt, Edda 2009). During the 1950’s pioneers such as Carl Djeerassi, Gregory Pincus and John Rock discovered the compounds needed to be used in present day pills. Since over 100 million women around the world use the pill, how healthy is this path of freedom in our society today? There are two types of hormones contained within the contraceptive pill: oestrogen and progestin that interfere with the normal hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle. The primary effect of the pill is suppression of ovulation whereby
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The pill therefore allows more women to focus more time on education and leaving marriage until later in life (Goldin, Claudia, and Lawrence Katz 2002). This is clear in the song called ‘The pill’ by Loretta Lynn in 1974 which told of a woman who found liberation from being a wife and mother through taking the pill. In opposition to this, some people believe that the contraceptive pill has twisted the roles of a man and woman. David Willetts, the Minister of State for Universities and Science, stated that ‘a generation of well-educated young women who cannot find a suitable match was fuelling the collapse of the family. Because more women than men were gaining degrees, women struggled to find a partner with good career prospects, and men were no longer given the opportunity to "bring home the bacon"’, which according to him was bad for