A Quick Guide To Contraception

By Emily Blake

AS YOUNG WOMEN, it's important to take our lives into our own hands. And though it may not always be discussed in the open, birth control is a huge vessel in which we can maintain our freedom.

Women have been providing themselves with contraceptive techniques dating back to as early as Ancient Egypt. In our current era, where many older men continue to assert themselves over the reproductive systems of young women, it's important that we know our options and our history.

A BRIEF GUIDE.

As access to contraception shifts overtime, it's crucial to (once again) know your options. I decided to depict the easiest-to-use, safest available birth control methods, in a cuter way than the normal Planned Parenthood clinician brochure. However, all of the information included in the following images is 100% sourced, accurate, and distributed by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, so you know these methods got your back. 

** Adverse side effects can be associated with some methods of contraception and birth control. It may be helpful to consult a Doctor/GP, or conduct your own research to check if you might be at risk.

 A BRIEF HISTORY.

[ note - this information is mostly US based ]

Around 3000 B.C. - Condoms are made from such materials as fish bladders, linen sheaths, and animal intestines.

Around 1500 - First spermicides introduced, using condoms made from linen cloth sheaths, soaked in a chemical solution and dried before using.

1873 - The Comstock Act passes in the United States prohibiting advertisements, information, and distribution of birth control, and allowing the postal service to confiscate birth control sold through the mail.

1916 - Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in the United States.  The next year she's deemed guilty of maintaining a public nuisance and sentenced to jail for 30 days. Once released, she re-opens her clinic and continues to persevere through further arrests and prosecutions.

1938 - In a case involving Margaret Sanger, a judge lifts the federal ban on birth control, ending the Comstock era.

1950 - While in her 80s, Sanger underwrites the research necessary to create the first human birth control pill. She raises $150,000 for the project.

1965 - The Supreme Court (in Griswold v. Connecticut) gives married couples the right to use birth control, ruling that it is protected in the Constitution as a right to privacy.

1972 - The Supreme Court (in Baird v. Eisenstadt) legalizes birth control for all citizens of this country, irrespective of marital status.

1990s - Introduction of Norplant, the first contraceptive implant (1990), DepoProvera, an injectable method (1992), FC1/Reality, a female condom (1993), and Plan B, a dedicated emergency contraceptive product (1999).

2000s - Rapid improvements in availability, safety and effectiveness, including (among others) the introduction of Ortho Evra, a hormonal patch (2001), Nuvaring, a vaginal ring (2001), and FC2, an improved female condom (2009).

2013 - One brand of emergency contraceptive pill (Plan B One-Step) becomes available on drug store shelves without need for a prescription.

Contraception is freedom, and
women have a right to their freedom.