This topic is not to start a debate about having children or not having children, about barrier methods or NFP. While those topics may be brought up in the future, the topic today is strictly about the birth control pill. And why I am against it.My biggest objection to the birth control pill is that it kills babies. While on the pill there is still a slight chance of ovulating and actually conceiving that month, only to have the fertilized egg move down to the uterus to implant itself and not being able to do so due to the thinned out lining of the uterus (thanks to the pill). Which means, in fact, that the pill just aborted your baby. Now if you were on the pill you apparently didn't want to get pregnant at that point anyway, but did you expect to find out that you could be the mother of a dead baby (babies) while on the pill? For those of us that believe that life begins at conception, that is a startling thought if you had never heard it before.
The main purpose of the pill is to stop ovulation. But the pill has many back ups and one of those is to thin the lining of your uterus so that if you do indeed ovulate and conceive the fertilized egg will not be able to implant itself on that thinned lining. While the majority of the time the pill will stop ovulation and therefore prevent an egg from getting fertilized, there is always the slight chance that you could ovulate. Which means there is always a slight chance that within a certain month you could have an egg fertilized and pass through you without you even knowing it. A baby, of your own, gone. If you believe that your birth control pills do not give you the opportunity to ovulate, ever, please read the information packet that comes with your pills and look for the information on the thinning of the uterus to prevent implantation. Birth control pills do not just stop you from getting pregnant, they also stop you from having a baby. I couldn't take that chance with a child's life, even if it was just a 1% chance of that happening.
Birth control also messes with your body. The hormones in those things are insane. Some types of birth control proclaim you should take it for a shorter and lighter period, or to skip your period altogether. I, personally, believe that we have a period for a reason. To try to skip it does something to your body and I think that we will be seeing a lot more female cancers or other health issues in the future due to the wide range of use. It isn't natural. Even if I wasn't against the pill due to the abortion factor, I would be against it for the health reasons. Many people go on the pill for bleeding issues or to regulate a period. This is not "fixing the problem", but only masking it. Someone wanting to take charge of their health would dig deeper to see what the problem is in the first place. There are many supplements and herbs that help the female reproductive issues and I think those should be the first things we go to when there is an issue. But supplements and herbs are not making drug companies money, so the doctors aren't pushing those, or even recommending them. Mothers are putting their own teenagers on the pills for "medical reasons" without looking at other alternatives, and we wonder why the teenage "angst" has gotten worse? Why would we be subjecting our teens to these artificial hormones just to lessen the duration of their cycle or control some bleeding issues without looking for the source of those issues? *Edited to add: I do realize that sometimes birth control pills can be the only resolution to a medical problem. I do think that they should be the last resort though, not the first. I do not have much of a problem with the pill being used as a medication for a health issue, as long as other resolutions have already been looked at and tried.*
I also think that birth control pills can cause, at the very least, a few months of fertility problems when they are first stopped. I know several couples who decided to get pregnant so stopped the pill, only to get pregnant and loose the baby. Is it possible that the pills lingering effects in the body had a part in it? I'm not sure, but it seems like that happens too much to just be a coincidence.
I think that there will come a time that the birth control pills are ruled unsafe. And I hope that those Christians who believe that life begins at conception can realize that their form of birth control could be leading to the deaths of their unknown babies. It is not a safe drug to take and not a moral one. There are other ways to avoid a pregnancy without the chance of conceiving and aborting.
What are your thoughts?
I am a Christian, but I take a different stance on birth control pills. I believe it is a woman's right to choose what form of birth control, if any. I have also heard many debates on the pill and whether or not you can potentially conceive while taking it. From everything I have ever read/researched, this is not a proven fact and is merely a matter of opinion. I don't think women should feel guilty about using the pill as a form of BC. They are choosing to be responsible and not bring children into the world until they are ready. These women should not be made to feel guilty about their choices.
ReplyDeleteAs far as birth control leading to a rise in female cancers, the pill has been around for so many years. If there were going to be a rise in female cancer connected to the pill it would have happened by now and it would have been taken off the market.
You are entitled to your own beliefs about the pill, however your argument is based on your beliefs and opinions, not strictly on scientific fact. Telling women to try herbs or supplements before using the pill to treat a medical condition is very irresponsible of you. Without a medical degree you have no business suggesting this to women. Your advice just might end up really hurting a woman if they took your advice before seeing a professional. Be careful what you write.
i wish i never woudl have read this. i take a pill for medical reasons other than to prevent pregnancy. we use condoms for that. we have "dug deeper" and found to root of the problem. i tried alterbnative methods and found nothing that worked for me, most only made things worse. my only options are to have a complete hystorectomy or take a birth control pill to control my symptoms. i found this out when i was 19 years old. shame on you for judging me for that decision. if i do not take the pill i have so much pain that i have trouble functioning. my threshold for pain is exceptionally high. i had a baby naturally while trying to pass kidney stones. this pain is comperable to the kidney stones. i bleed so much that i had to use depends pads and change them at least every 1/2 hour. imagine trying to sleep like that. i am a Christian and it hurts for someone to tell me that it is so cut and dry when it is not. to tell me that i kill babies and am doing something that is morally wrong is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteTo the two comments above...
ReplyDeleteAnonymous...if you have tried alternatives first and found them not acceptable, then apparently the pill is your last choice. You also mentioned you used condoms for pregnancy prevention. Meaning you are not allowing an egg to become fertilized. No where in my posting did I say anything that should make you feel bad. In your situation I do not see you doing anything wrong.
Beenomom...The fact that you can conceive while on the pill is not my opinion, it is a known fact. Birth control pills are not 100% effective (even their own literature will tell you that) so then it is a proven fact that you can conceive on them. Their own literature will also tell you that while the point of the pills is to prevent ovulation, it can still occur and that is why the pills also prevent a thick uterine linning...so that implantation is more difficult to occur. Those are facts.
Yes, women have a choice of their birth control and I was not saying that the pill should be illegal, I was just stating why I personally think it is wrong. I was also not saying that some medical conditions require it, I was stating that it only "cover up" the symptoms of a medical condition, it doesn't fix it.
An added note...there is a rise in female cancers, they just haven't been linked to a source yet.
ReplyDeleteThe birth control pill is one of a number of choices for any number of issues. There are drawbacks to all contraceptive methods. You pick the one that works the best for you. Whether it should be the last choice or the first depends upon your individual situation.
ReplyDeleteIronically, the pill is something that I am considering now while on menopause, not for contraception reasons but for hormonal reasons. It may be my best alternatives. There are risks involved as there are with taking any drug, and I have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. My 80+ year old MIL has gotten a new lease on life after on a form of the pill and it isn't the bc component of it that has done it.
I think posts like yours are valuable in reminding all of us of moral issues, risks, problems with the pill, especially things that are often not covered in standard blurbs about going on the pill.
Before I read the other comments --
ReplyDeletere: herbs and supplements, it is necessary to do a LOT of research and use very, very, VERY trusted sources, as they are not "medicine" and thus are not FDA regulated, at all. Which means know what you are buying, and who you are buying it from. I think that is the reason many doctors do not recommend herbs/supplements; they are an unregulated option.
As for "a few months of infertility" -- a few months does not equal infertility. I think most struggling with actual infertility would be offended to read that. Sure, you might not conceive the month you stop the pill, but that does not make you infertile.
Whether pills or not will be ruled unsafe -- they've been around a long, long time. The FDA deems them safe. I don't think we'll see that change any time soon.
Okay, off to read the comments, and maybe back with more after that....
beenomom, I'm with you. Personally, I can't use the pill because it gives me migraines. I use an alternate and equally "evil" type of bc, though (the mirena iud). This is b/c we need to prevent a pregnancy, for the health and safety of the baby. I do not carry babies to term. I have three children, all premature, and one miscarraige. We've had a combined 10 weeks of NICU time between the 3 boys (2 wks, 1 wk, 7 wks). I need something with as close to a zero fail rate as I can get -- the mirena is it. MOre effective even than either a tubal or a vasectomy.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your opinion and educating those on how the pill works, but your tone of "..therefore you should never take this evil thing!!" is a bit much. It is up to each person/couple to decide what method of birth control is right for them.
I personally opted not to go on the pill when I got married because I had heard that it can disrupt your normal cycles (i.e. fertility). I had heard from many people that they had had problems conceiving after going off of the pill and although I did not want to become pregnant right then, it was still a concern for me. My husband and I used a barrier method with low failure rate and were able to successfully avoid pregnancy for a few years and had no problems getting pregnant with our children. Extended nursing also has been a natural child spacer for us. As far as not using the pill for reasons that I have heard that it can potentially cause an abortion once a year. My doctor says that it is such a small chance that it is negligible, but it is a big deal to me, as I certainly do not want to be responsible for causing an abortion in my body, just in case. This is a decision my husband and I are comfortable with, but I am not going to climb onto a soap box and condemn those who choose differently.
ReplyDeleteAs far as it being used for other medical purposes, that is another issue entirely, and a personal decision for each person. The highest percentage of pill users are still using it as a contraceptive,though. I just think that most people don't even give it a second thought to begin ingesting the pill as soon as they become sexually active. They are just looking at it as a way to not get pregnant, rather than really researching the pros and cons and making an educated decision. I don't think that it is beneficial to anyone if pill users as dubbed as baby killers (and I don't think that is what you were doing, Beth :-)), as many of them probably are not even aware of all the facts. We women need to be armed with facts about our health issues. It is not an easy thing to talk about. This is a real hot button issue and I will be interested to see what everyone's comments are. Hopefully comments will be gracious and intelligent, rather than angry. We all come from different backgrounds with differents thoughts and ideas. It's important to remember that no one is right 100% of the time.
Like any other issue, I take a Libertarian stance on it when it comes to making decisions for others (you know, not my business as long as it doesn't affect other's civil liberties)...
ReplyDeleteWith that said, it is 100% my opinion that BC pills are not good for ME!!!! I am looking into other safer and more effective means of not getting pregnant again (I am not supposed to get pregnant again due to BP issues...serious ones)...anyhow, I know BC pills are full of hormones which alter the way our bodies should work regularly not to mention the risks of other serious things.
I know someone who was on BC for almost 20 years and ended up having major medical issues...can I say it was due to the BC, no, but they are female issues which may prevent her from EVER having children. She started taking it at 16 and at 37 can't conceive.
I am definitely looking into other alternatives and practicing coutus interuptus (latin for...ahem, interrupting the act) and timing methods...those seem to be au natural.
I agree with a lot of your comments. However, we had to find the best solution for our family. My husband does not believe in NFP (I do) and I can't take the pill (or the patch, or depo). So, I felt like the IUD was our only option besides permanence. The IUD also works like the pill. It reduces ovulation and implantation. And makes the environment hostile for sperm.
ReplyDeleteI am all for a woman's right to choose. I do wish there were more healthier options, though.
Birth control pills can actually HELP someone conceive when they were otherwise not able to. I have pretty serious PCOS and was totally blocked so I could not ovulate. We tried all kinds of things but eventually found that taking birth control and diabetes medication shrunk my cysts by about 60% in only 8 months. I was able to ovulate and have a baby right away. I never experienced "infertility" due tot taking the pill and am a little offended that anyone would consider a few months of trouble conceiving "infertility" anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice of you to speak for all doctors though. Mine suggested supplements. They did not help.
I think you are missing the point of a lot of these pills and their advertising. Many of them talk about how if you are already taking a pill you should switch to theirs because then you can have lighter periods. One even says if you are already on the pill there is no medical need to have a period so that is why you should switch to that one. That is a major point that you are omitting.
I changed my wording of infertility to fertily issues, as that is what I meant in the first place but miswrote. I am sorry if I offeded anyone by mistyping.
ReplyDeleteI am going to say this from EXPERIENCE... most teenage girls that have painful periods the OB's throw the BC at them to HELP, when in fact they are doing more harm than good. I AM A LIVING EXAMPLE OF THAT... I was on 6 a day to stop my bleeding and pains. IT MASKED THE REAL ISSUE.
ReplyDeletein the end I believe with out a doubt that it caused me to have a Hysterectomy.
I say as woman WE NEED TO EDUCATE ourselves.
Politics and religion aside, I have not gotten on the pill simply because I don't want to introduce a bunch of chemicals into my body if I don't have to. If you really, really want to prevent a pregnancy, you can use two or three different natural/barrier methods at once. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat topic, Beth! My OPINION is that the pill is not an option for birth control. I have been on the pill before though. After educating myself and finding that I could indeed conceive and then spontaneously "lose" my baby/fertilized egg. Someone made the comment that the pills can help during pregnancy and I have faced this, but it is not an overhead true statement. It's the progesterone that can help a female against miscarriage. They come in the form of a suppositoty and are used daily in the first trimester to help avoid a miscarriage. At this point in my life, with major medical problems, four children and really beyond acceptable maternal age, I would still not consider the pill as MY option. I certainly don't fault anyone who uses it though. I have an 18 year old daughter who is a virgin, but takes YAZ for acne issues. We had to do the research, yes, husband/father was involved, and her overall self esteem out-weighed my own aversion to her being on the pill. She takes additional medication for acne as well and today, she is still a virgin with flawless, beautiful skin and she is very comfortable in her own skin. Instead of pointing fingers and having cat fights over right and wrong, I think what Beth meant and said very well, was that the key is to educate ourselves as women and to support each other as sisters. We all face enough adverse reactions about life situations, women need to ban together and support all types, opinions, decisions and actions. Again Beth, great topic!
ReplyDeleteJacki