America’s Favorite Birth Control Method Turns 50

It’s interesting that we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the birth control pill on Mother’s Day this year. It’s not a subject I, or any other guy, would really keep up with. “Prevents pregnancies?” I think the discussion ends there. At most, it probably would extend to an exclamation of, “What?! I thought you said you were on the pill!” after receiving some unexpected news.

There are two things I took away from this article. First being an observation about expectations and the latter being an appreciation. Firstly…expectations. Early advocates supported and expected the birth control pill to do more than just prevent pregnancies: Lower divorce rates, prevent overpopulation, save marriages, contribute to preventing war and poverty. On the flipside, others expected sexual anarchy and maleficence (just noticed the word “male” in “maleficence”). Lovely. I digress, as history reveals the birth control pill didn’t do any of that. However, not meeting those expectations did not reduce the impact it had. It reminds me of a quote I heard, “Everything in our lives is the opposite of our expectations.” Sometimes in life, many of your expectations will not be met at a satisfactory level. However, it doesn’t reduce the potential it has to have a meaningful impact on the world.

I have a new found appreciation of the medical, cultural and social impact the birth control had for women. It’s definitely a game changer. Ultimately, it is all about choice. When people have the power to choose, they have the power to determine and define their future. These choices are expressive and represent a person’s individuality. And when you empower people to do that… at the end of the day it can only be a good thing.

It’s a great article and I highly recommend the read: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iogSOR_zl4a2_We9XhespWZeNVVwD9FI1TC81