Jackie Kremer Professor Olding ENG 200 Response #4 Research Question: What part did birth control play

in the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s? Thesis: Birth Control was one of the most important inventions that led to an entire change of American attitude, beliefs, and practices. The birth control pill, otherwise referred to as simply the pill, changed the game in birth control technology. It was unlike any other contraceptive device. Invented in 1957 and licensed by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960, it seemingly diminished the danger of unwanted pregnancy from sex. It was also the only effective contraceptive to be taken independent of sexual intercourse. The combination of these two factors seemed to make all other forms of contraception go out of fashion (Allyn 33-34). The first birth control pill to make it to the market in the United States was called Enovid by the Searle Company. Searle aggressively publicly marketed it and despite its several potentially hazardous side effects (including nausea, headaches, heart problems, and cancer), it was an immediate hit.