Shantique Dortch
English 102, Hardin
March 29,2011
Project 3: Definition Paper
Life is not the same as it was 80 years ago where a married couple would get
together and have a child, then the dad went to work and paid all the bills while the mom
did the house cleaning and took care of the child. Unfortunately that lifestyle is over, the
society has changed and life has provided more issues to go through. Any type of Birth
control was frowned upon back in the early 1900’s simply because of family morals, and
most people thought of it from a religious point of view. While birth control was defined
negatively years ago because of changes in society it is now thought of in more positive
ways.
Scientists, today, have provided more information for individuals to prevent birth.
Birth control includes recent methods such as condom, sterilization, intrauterine devices,
and the birth control pills. It also includes older methods such as abortion, prolonged
nursing of infants, and periodic abstinence from sex, herbal tonics, and coitus interruptus
(parity). The most popular birth prevention is the pill; most pills must be taken every day.
They all have effects on different individuals. In the article The Pill: How it is Affecting
U.S. Morals, Family Life? ; The author Lerner states that the pill was the most effective
form of birth control ever developed. It separated sexual intercourse from reproduction and
made it possible for women to engage strictly in recreational sex. With the introduction of
the pill, the sexual revolution of the 1960’s became possible. Individuals developed an
Shantique Dortch
English 102, Hardin
March 29,2011
opened mind to sex knowing there was substance to prevent birth. As early as the 18th
century unmarried women went through the terminating process for unwanted
pregnancies. Despite the pill, Abortion which is a surgical sterilization has become an
effective birth control as while. Sexual activity increased with teenagers who led to
increased rates of teenage pregnancy and unintended pregnancies in the United States.
Elective abortion was made legal in the United States in the 70’s, and by 1990 the United
States had one of the highest abortion rates in the western world (Lerner 449). Today
scientists still analysis the history of contraceptive devices. The article Birth control from
Mamillian Social Science Library give us research on the men wearing condom back in
3000 B.C., as while as a Pessary mix invented in early 1850 B.C which is an object or
mixture that is inserted into the vagina to block sperm. It is certain that birth control has
always been in existence but it wasn’t always expected.
There are differences in the way that birth control was percept years ago then today.
Many people believed for some many unsaid reasons, besides morals and religion, that
contraceptive devices use to prevent pregnancy was wrong. The Comstock Law of 1873
was brought upon by Anthony Comstock from New York City, he went to Washington
D.C to ask for act with advertising contraceptive devices as while as other thing such as
sexuality, knowledge on abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases (McGarry). The
legislature denied his request for help and from then The Comstock Law was used to act
against those who tried to advertise birth control until 1938. Margaret Sanger case on birth
control ended the ban of contraceptive advertisement and devices. With the help of
Margaret Sanger today birth control variety has widen and more individuals has the access.
Shantique Dortch
English 102, Hardin
March 29,2011
Birth control alleviates the financial struggle that many families are in nowadays.
Many people are going through a struggle to put food on the table for the members of the
already existing family. Jobs aren’t paying enough money to pay all the bills in the homes,
let alone keep their homes. With all these expenses this also cause for both parents to get a
job. A lot of jobs are reducing the insurance benefit to even provide care for the child or
mother before birth. The cost of child birth is approximately 10,000 dollars not including
doctor visits before and after birth. Future cost for the child is also consider such as preschool and kindergarten, parents spend a lot of money on crayon, pencils, paper, and
learning techniques such as “My Baby Can Read”. Birth control abstracts all those worries,
and makes it easier for a couple to focus on how to survive now and worry about any family
additions later.
In this day and age, the best decision for a couple with an unstable lifestyle is some
form of birth control. When mentioning birth control couples brainstorm on who is going
to baby sit while they both work to provide for the family. Finding a good babysitter or
daycare that satisfies their requirements are important too. Parents have desires for their
children it’s always going to be the question “do I really want someone else rising my baby
while I work?” Though they may be busy family plans to support their child must apply;
who will attend school programs, and which will be transporting to and from school. This
causes a division of labor for the child, one parent may feel like their giving the most child
support than the other. Farther down the line, the baby develops a lack of attention from
their parents and that can cause big problems. That’s why birth control is an option to
Shantique Dortch
English 102, Hardin
March 29,2011
decide when a couple is ready, it eliminates the unexpected.
Birth control methods also prevent a huge stand back for those successful couples
with intense careers. Very successful people believe highly about their jobs some people
have worked really hard to get where they are in life. When it comes to the conversation
about children, they may say that it’s an interference with the balance of their lifestyle.
Many women and men who are in relationships consider birth control because they like
where they are in their lives and a baby would just discomfort them. Careers plans for
someone majority of the time is intense because often people go through a lot to get to
where they have been trying to get to their whole life. So now it’s a struggle of balancing a
career against baby responsibilities. Long hours are a factor in the corporate world, there’s
no room for baby responsibilities. Normally a person with a well kept job uses birth control
to ensure that they can be sexually activity without worries on pregnancy.
In conclusion, I can definitely say that the ability of bringing life into the world is
wonderful when it’s planned. I really do believe that there’s no shame in being prepared for
your future. Birth control is what gives an individual the power to do that. When people
think of birth control, they think of the shot, or pill. But will today technology I would
under estimate the ability to go farther. I feel that it’s always smart to think first, and in two
words that would be the best definition for birth control to me.
Shantique Dortch
English 102, Hardin
March 29,2011
Works Cited Page
"Birth Control." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A.
Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008.
302-303. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Tues. 22 Mar. 2011.
Birth Control." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010.
Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Tues. 22 Mar. 2011.
Hansen, Devon. "Family Planning." Encyclopedia of American Urban History.
Vol. 1. Sage Reference, 2007. 256-258. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Tues. 22 Mar. 2011.
McGarry, Molly. "SPECTRAL SEXUALITIES: Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism, Moral
Panics, and the Making of U.S. Obscenity Law." Journal of Women's History 12.2
(2000): 8. Academic OneFile. Tues. 22 Mar. 2011.
"The Pill: How Is It Affecting U.S. Morals, Family Life?" Medicine, Health, and
Bioethics: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 446-450. Gale Virtual Reference
Library. Tues. 22 Mar. 2011.