For the past two centuries, the form of oral contraception has seen a rise in popularity with the differing views on the pill's significance. Whether it be said that the pill has shown many positive benefits, the dangers of this form of contraception must remain known. Birth control is a negatively viewed drug that does more damage than good to society as a whole. Birth control is an unnecessary medical practice that gives women a bad stigma, causes major side effects, counteracts religious beliefs, and poses a threat to the environment.
The stigma of birth control displays a negative image of women, making them a target for hateful words and phrases. “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy” (Bannon). When women are seen to be taking birth control, society automatically assumes because the woman is seen taking “the pill” she is open to having sex with anyone and parades her body like a male peacock boasting his feathers. Many women have reached out about how being targeted feels and how equality in sex drive is not the same. “76% say that girls are judged harshly for sexual behavior that is seen as acceptable in boys.” (Hrreview.co.uk) When “Is birth control...” is typed into the search bar of Google, the top two results are “Is birth control bad for you/ is birth control bad?” This shows that a lot of people have some concerns when it comes to oral contraceptives. The main concern about birth control is the side effects.
It is common for many medications to have side effects, when it comes to birth control the side effects only grow larger and more severe. The most reported side effects affiliated with birth control are intermenstrual spotting, nausea, breast tenderness, headaches, migraines, weight gain, mood changes, missed periods, decreased sex drive, vaginal discharge, and changes to eyesight for women who wear glasses/contact lenses. Intermenstrual spotting is the process of when women are in between the time gap of two menstrual cycles and continue to lose blood although it is not a large amount of blood it is still present. This could be annoying and inconvenient when dealing with daily activities. Nausea is very abundant in many side effects, nausea can be described as a feeling of sickness with the inclination of vomiting. Breast tenderness is simply the situation in which the breasts are sensitive to the touch. Headaches and migraines follow along the same path as nausea, all are very common but may decrease the ability to think clearly and work efficiently. Weight gain as a symptom is not as drastic as it sounds, the hormones in birth control interfere with the natural hormones which therefore result in the cause of weight gain, this is also the reason why it is said to have mood changes. Missed periods and vaginal discharge vary between each woman but both should be taken very close attention to and with great caution. Birth control side effects may impair eyesight for women who use visionary helping tools such as glasses and contact lenses. As if these side effects are not enough to make you take a second look, your religion might.
The vision of the human body is sacred and often referred to as a temple, with this being said the things that take place and are inserted into the body should be looked at very carefully. Many religions are against birth control seeing as it is not a natural form of preventative childbirth. This is believed by those following the roman catholic church, protestant religions, and Islam. As many people are faithful to their religion, likely, the followers of this religion will likely not partake in the consumption of this oral contraceptive. In avoidance of being seen as impure and a sinner, most families do not support or condone the usage of birth control.
The environment human beings live in is often taken for granted. Women who participate in consuming oral contraceptives are taking part in destroying the environment. This in particular is affecting the lives of innocent fish and the water they swim in. “Starting a few years ago, in the Potomac River, male largemouth bass started popping up with eggs in their sex organs. The deformity usually makes reproduction impossible, ultimately hurting the fish population. Many scientists believe the problem could stem from hormones and other pollutants flushed into our nation's waterways from sewage treatment plants.” (Lopez) When the human choice of preventing reproduction becomes selfish, it is a necessity for our environment that we put the use of these pills behind human culture and look for better alternatives for all ecosystems, not just humans.
Birth control has many more downfalls than it does with positive outcomes, such as targeting women with the negative stigma of consuming birth control, The inconvenient side effects it takes on the body of the consumer and the people around, challenging religions, and putting the lives of innocent fish in danger for reproducing and being responsible for feeding the population. Birth control is a medication that negatively affects the entire society making it impossible to have more benefits than downfalls.
Works Cited
- Evon, Dan, and Dan Evon. “FACT CHECK: Steve Bannon's Vulgar Quote About Birth Control?” Snopes.com, www.snopes.com/fact-check/birth-control-steve-bannon/.
- Editor. “87% Of Young Girls Think Women Are Judged on Appearance, Not Ability.” HRreview, 3 Dec. 2013, www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/diversity-news/women-are-judged-on-appearance-not-ability/49773.
- Lopez, Kathryn. 'The Birth Control Pill Has Destructive Environmental Consequences.' Birth Control, edited by Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010568243/OVIC?u=j084906&sid=OVIC&xid=cf9637c8. Accessed 3 Mar. 2019. Originally published as 'Birth Control: The New Pollutant,'.
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What Effects Does Birth Control Have on Women Essay.
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