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The Birth Control Movement

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In the nineteenth century, families typically had around eight children. This was normal because more people were needed to work around the house and on farms. As time went on couples found that it became more expensive to continue to support large families, emotionally and financially. Women were often forced into marriages or were not privileged enough to finish a full length education because they had to devote their lives to support an unplanned pregnancy. “Abstinence, withdrawal, and various vaginal plugs and sperm-retardant substances were used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, as well as in medieval Europe and early colonial America, with varying degrees of success and safety.”("Birth Control Movement.", 2)All throughout history …show more content…
It was first was created in 1950. Margaret Sanger, who was in her eighties during the time birth control was finally invented, was a birth control activist and the earliest known advocate to the development of the oral contraception for women. She lived from 1879 to 1966 and she inspired and persuaded many to take part in her movement and to partake in the creation of the pill itself. Gregory Pincus was one of the many who was persuaded by Margaret Sanger. He lived from 1903 to 1967 and helped to lead the development of the hormonally based birth control pill. Many people questioned the morals and values of the inventors and the advocates for the birth control pill. People thought that they were motivated by race, class, and prejudice. They believed the movement was intended to be rid of poor people, immigrants, and people of color. The inventors believed that they were helping to give people a choice through a safe oral pill for women to …show more content…
The usage of the pill made the decision to postpone a marriage or to not choose to get married at all, a more acceptable concept to society. In colonial America, birth control was not something to worry about because big families were seen as essential for working on farms and populating new settlements. No one lived in fear of getting pregnant because more people were always needed. This concept was forced to change during the industrial revolution when supporting a large family became much more expensive. People became much more open to the idea and the use of oral contraceptives during the time of the Great Depression when money was in short supply and people couldn’t afford to support children. Birth control gave women the opportunity to plan financially, emotionally, and to continue their desired amount of schooling in order to pursue their career of choice. These appear to be the positives of the birth control movement and what the pill allowed people to be able to do, however, not everyone was on board with the idea of an oral

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