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Victoria Marx

Professor Cassel

English 1201-506

1st November 2021

Birth Control: Time for a Change

On May 9, 1960 the FDA approved the birth control pill. This was a huge moment for

women’s reproductive rights. While this was and is a step in the right direction, we haven’t

seen much advancement in women’s contraceptives. There is a range of birth control methods,

but all include a list of symptoms about a mile long. Additionally, around 9 in 100 women

using the pill will get pregnant in a year. Birth control contraceptives are aimed towards

women because of the lack of regard for women’s health, the FDA’s involvement with

approving new drugs, and how developing contraceptives for men is more difficult because of

their biology.

If one birth control method doesn’t work for you, there is always another

method. There’s the pill, the shot, an IUD, etc. Unfortunately, all of these methods have their

own undesirable side effects. Kaushal writes, “I realized that, in fact, the whole foundation of

my confusion and anxiety over choosing a birth control method stemmed from the possibility

of harmful side effects. I now know that each birth control method has its own list of side

effects, some more dangerous than others. And, choosing any method would feel like

choosing the lesser evil.” (Do We Really Have Reproductive Freedom?) This connects to my

idea that all birth control aimed towards women has unwanted side effects.
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First of all, let’s address why there’s a lack of advancement in birth control as it is.

Some would argue that it’s because when women bring attention to an issue, they are often

overlooked or dismissed. In the text is says, “They should be angry – women’s health just

does not get equal attention. There’s a huge sex bias in all of medicine.” (Vaccine Side Effect

Leaves Women Wondering: Why isn’t Oral Birth Control Safer?) This quote is in response to

outrage about blood clots associated with birth control pills. This is important to acknowledge

because if women’s health isn’t getting equal attention, serious issues and side effects can be

disregarded.

In addition, Kelly Tyrrell was 37 when doctors found potentially fatal blood clots in

her lungs. She was an endurance athlete, strong and healthy. Multiple doctors had told her that

the lightness in her chest was due to stress and anxiety. Finally, on October 24 th, 2019 doctors

scanned her lungs to reveal multiple blood clots. Tyrrell states, “Part of my anger was that a

medication I took to control my fertility ended up threatening my mortality. I’m angry that I

hadn’t been counseled better about that risk, or even what to look for.” (Vaccine Side Effect

Leaves Women Wondering: Why Isn’t Oral Birth Control Safer?) This supports the idea that

women may be overlooked when addressing an issue with their health.

To further evaluate how women’s claims regarding health can be dismissed, let’s look

to the emotional/mental side effects of birth control. For example, “…Women on the pill were

twice as likely to experience depression, anxiety, mental numbness, and an inability to feel

pleasure from normal activities (known as anhedonia). These kind of side effects can be

among the most frustrating because they’re so easily dismissed by doctors and even by the

women experiencing them.” (Birth Control Can Be Dangerous To Women’s Health). This

piece of evidence shows how when women come forth about symptoms, especially emotional
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ones, they aren’t taken seriously enough. This can then cause doubt in women themselves as

to if what they’re experiencing is legitimate.

One of the most obvious reasons that birth control hasn’t changed much since its

invention is the FDA’s involvement with approving new drugs. McArdle states, “The FDA

has gotten consistently more strict with its requirements over the decades, and pharmaceutical

companies have responded by killing products that might be good, but have a high risk of

flunking Phase III.” (Why Don’t We Have Better Birth Control?) This demonstrates how even

if a new birth control method was developed, it’s unlikely the FDA would approve it.

My question also poses the question: why don’t men have to deal with annoying

contraceptives? Well, the answer might be more complicated than you think. Mullin reveals,

“Investigators working on male contraceptive drugs say there are two major challenges to

bringing these products to the market. For one, blocking the production of millions of sperm

per day in men versus preventing the release of one egg per month in women is just more

complicated, biologically speaking. Secondly, there’s little funding available for clinical trials

of these drugs.” (Why We Still Don’t Have Birth Control Drugs for Men). This is significant

because in knowing how much more difficult it is to develop a form of birth control for the

male body, we can see why birth control is still aimed toward women.

In conclusion, there’s a multitude of reasons why women get the undesirable job of

worrying about contraceptives. Women’s health and suffering whether it be emotional,

mental, or physical, is notably overlooked and dismissed. Beyond that, there isn’t enough

funding for new forms of birth control or birth control for men. Even if there was, it’s unlikely

the FDA would approve it. It should also be stated that developing birth control for men is
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harder considering there’s millions of sperm to block a day vs. one egg a month. Birth control

contraceptives are aimed towards women because of all of these reasons.

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Works Cited

Kaushal, Shakun. "Do We Really Have Reproductive Freedom?" Women's Health Activist, vol. 45,

no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2020, p. 12. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A618031008/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=8123fc1f.

Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.

Mandavilli, Apoorva. "Vaccine Side Effect Leaves Women Wondering: Why Isn't Oral Birth Control

Safer?" New York Times, 31 May 2021, p. A6(L). Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A663605941/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=240693ea.

Accessed 16 Oct. 2021.

McArdle, Megan. “Why Don't We Have Better Birth Control?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media

Company, 17 July 2013, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/why-dont-we-have-better-birth-

control/238085/.

Mullin, Emily. “Why We Still Don't Have Birth Control Drugs for Men.” MIT Technology Review,

MIT Technology Review, 2 Apr. 2020, https://www.technologyreview.com/2016/11/11/156113/why-we-still-

dont-have-birth-control-drugs-for-men/.

Sole-Smith, Virginia. "Birth Control Can Be Dangerous to Women's Health." Birth Control, edited by

Jack Lasky, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010568278/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=18f004c7.

Accessed 16 Oct. 2021. Originally published as "The Birth Control Pill Has Become a Widely Prescribed Cure

All ... But What About the Drawbacks?" Elle, 31 Oct. 2013.