The Birth Control Pill: Enabler of the Sexual Revolution
CHAPTER 31 — THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL: ENABLER OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION
American Life League
A high correlation between abortion experience and contraceptive experience can be expected in populations to which both contraception and abortion are available ... Women who have practiced contraception are more likely to have had abortions than those who have not practiced contraception, and women who have had abortions are more likely to have been contraceptors than women without a history of abortion.
Abortion statistician Dr. Christopher Tietze.[1]
Anti-Life Philosophy.
The invention of the birth control pill was the greatest boon of all time for women. This safe and effective contraceptive enabled them to finally escape the shackles of their own fertility, and gave them a degree of sexual freedom that they had never before experienced.
Additionally, the birth control pill prevents hundreds of thousands of abortions annually, many of them illegal back-alley butcher jobs that cost thousands of women their very lives every year.
Anyone who opposes the use of the birth control pill and other fertility control measures is a religious fanatic and a misogynist who wants to control the bodies of women and confine them to the home.
Introduction.
The Objective: An Abortifacient.
The idea of a "safe and handy" abortifacient is certainly nothing new. As far back as 1966, Garrett Hardin and other population theorists were dreaming and hoping that the major "contraceptive" of the future would be an abortifacient pill.[2]
The reason for this was obvious: If the Pill initially failed to prevent pregnancy, it would then work to end it. In other words, the woman herself would be the abortionist who would deal with 'contraceptive failures' and, the best part (from the anti-lifer's view) is that she would never actually know whether or not she had aborted, and so her conscience could remain clear.
The Searle Company developed the first oral contraceptive (OC), Enovid, in the late 1950s. In keeping with defensive anti-litigation strategy, the company extensively tested the Pill on Puerto Rican women before concluding that it was safe for American women to use in 1961.[3]
Eventually, the older, "high-dose" birth control pills gave way to the new abortifacient "low-dose" pills. Ortho/Johnson & Johnson, G.D. Searle/ Monsanto, and Syntex, the three largest manufacturers of OCs in the United States, voluntarily withdrew their products from the American market in 1988 on the advice of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These were the last commercially-available pills containing more than 50 micrograms of estrogen.[3]
Foreign Product Testing.
Initial experimentation on foreign women is an entirely typical tactic of the major pharmaceutical companies. They often test their birth control devices on poor women from developing countries so that any mistakes or serious health problems are easier to cover up. One advantage to this tactic is that poor women from foreign countries have little recourse when their health is destroyed or damaged by this kind of testing, because the companies bring lots of American dollars to their homelands, and any agitation against the programs could be easily suppressed by local governments.
In the opinion of the 'new abortionists,' it is just too bad if their 'guinea pigs' are damaged. However, if the birth control product is judged safe for American women to use, the product is marketed in the United States.
If the product is used by American women but later turns out to be unhealthy despite the initial program of foreign testing, the pharmaceutical companies flood developing countries with their abortifacient devices and drugs in the name of "foreign aid" and "population control." This course of action has been taken with several IUDs, the injectable abortifacient Depo-Provera, and many brands of high-dose birth control pills.
For more information on various forms of United States "contraceptive imperialism," see Chapter 129 of Volume III, "Overpopulation."
The 'Sexual Revolution.'
The vast majority of women who want to inhibit their natural fertility now turn to the birth control pill. "The Pill" became widely used in the late 1960s and was hailed as a panacea and it also helped fuel the 'Sexual Revolution.' About eight million American women now use this method of artificial birth control.[4]
Most women in general either do not know or no longer care that all birth control pills on the market today are abortifacients. In fact, the introduction of such admitted abortifacients as NORPLANT and RU-486 may cause the percentage of women using the birth control pill to decline substantially in the near future in favor of methods that are advertised as abortifacient in character. It seems that the only thing that matters to these women is being free of children.
The historically sharp dividing line between birth control and abortion has well and truly been obliterated by the New Abortionists: The pharmaceutical companies.
The Pill's General Mode of Action.
Progestin-only contraceptives are known to alter the cervical mucus, exert a progestinal effect on the endometrium, interfering with implantation, and, in some patients, suppress ovulation.
United States Food and Drug Administration.[5]
When the female reproductive system is functioning naturally, the hypothalamus (the part of the brain containing the vital autonomic regulatory centers) controls the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which signals the pituitary gland to secrete luteinizing hormone (LH), which in turn assists ovulation and coordinates the release of estrogen and progestin from the ovaries.
When a woman ingests birth control pills, they literally take over her reproductive system by brute force. The pills cause the ovaries to maintain a steady high level of estrogen and/or progestin production, depending upon the brand of pill being used. The hypothalamus adjusts to this high level of hormone secretion and essentially shuts off GnRH production. Therefore, the production of luteinizing hormone by the pituitary gland is also inhibited, and ovulation ceases or is drastically curtailed.
The original class of birth control pills contained a high dosage of both estrogen and progestin, which led to a variety of side effects, including blurred vision, nausea, cramping, irregular menstrual bleeding, headaches, and possibly breast cancer.
Beginning in about 1975, the manufacturers of the Pill, in reaction to adverse publicity generated about the severe side effects caused by the high-dosage pills, steadily decreased the content of estrogen and progestin in their products.
The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation now boast that the average dosage of estrogen in the Pill has declined from 150 micrograms in 1960 to 35 micrograms in 1988.[6]
The Primary Problem With Pill 'Improvement.'
Woman's Health and Baby's Death.
Users of the "old" high-dosage birth control pills experienced relatively severe side effects. However, many of these pills were generally considered non-abortifacient in their two-fold ("biphasic") modes of action. The pills would thicken cervical mucus and inhibit ovulation, but they would generally not inhibit implantation of the blastocyst (the five-day old, 256-cell developing human being) in the uterine lining.
However, the new low-dosage pills are "triphasic." They have three modes of action; they thicken cervical mucus, inhibit ovulation, and block implantation. Therefore, the "new" Pills are all abortifacient in nature.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in its 1984 pamphlet entitled "Facts About Oral Contraceptives," said that "Though rare, it is possible for women using combined pills (synthetic estrogen and progestogen) to ovulate. Then other mechanisms work to prevent pregnancy. Both kinds of pills make the cervical mucus thick and 'inhospitable' to sperm, discouraging any entry to the uterus. In addition, they make it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant, by causing changes in Fallopian tube contractions and in the uterine lining. These actions explain why the minipill works, as it generally does not suppress ovulation."
This chapter describes the four basic types of birth-control pills and their modes of action. Figure 31-1 describes the hormonal contents of the pills, and Figure 31-2 lists the various manufacturers of the pills in the United States.
FIGURE 31-1
CURRENT CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CONCEPTION CONTROL/BIRTH CONTROL PILLS
[A medium text size on your computer's 'view' setting is recommended, otherwise, the tables may be discombobulated.]
Milligrams of Micrograms of
Type of Pill Progestin Estrogen
(1) High-dose pill 1 to 12 mg 60 to 120 mcg
(2) Low-dose pill 1 to 2.5 mg 50 to 80 mcg
(3) Mini-combination 0.5 to 1.5 mg 20 to 35 mcg
(4) Mini-pill 0.075 to 0.35 mg NONE
FIGURE 31-2
MANUFACTURERS OF CONCEPTION CONTROL/BIRTH CONTROL PILLS SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES
High-Dose Pills
Ortho Ortho Novum 1/80-21 day
Ortho Novum 1/80-28 day
Ortho Novum 2mg-21 day
Searle Enovid 5mg
Enovid 10mg
Enovid E21
Ovulen-21
Ovulen-28
Syntex Norinyl 2mg
Norinyl 1/80-28 day
Low-Dose Pills
Berlex Levlen-21 day
Levlen-28 day
Mead Johnson Ovcon-50
Ortho Ortho Novum 1/50-21 day
Ortho Novum 1/50-28 day
Parke-Davis Norlestrin 1/50-21 day
Norlestrin 1/50-28 day
Norlestrin 1/50-Fe
Norlestrin 2.5/50-Fe
Norlestrin 2.5/50-21 day
Searle Demulen 1/50-21 day
Demulen 1/50-28 day
Syntex Genora 1/50-21 day
Genora 1/50-28 day
Norinyl 1/50-21 day
Norinyl 1/50-28 day
Wyeth Ovral-21 day
Ovral-28 day
Mini-Combination Pills
Berlex Tri-Levlen-21 day
Tri-Levlen-28 day
Mead-Johnson Ovcon-35
Ortho Modicon-21 day
Modicon-28 day
Ortho Novum 1/35-21 day
Ortho Novum 1/35-28 day
Ortho Novum 10/11-21 day
Ortho Novum 10/11-28 day
Ortho Novum 7/7/7-21 day
Ortho Novum 7/7/7-28 day
Parke-Davis Loestrin 1/20-21 day
Loestrin 1.5/30-21 day
Loestrin 1/20-Fe
Loestrin 1.5/30-Fe
Searle Demulen 1/35-21 day
Demulen 1/35-28 day
Syntex Brevicon-21 day
Brevicon-28 day
Genora 1/35-21 day
Genora 1/35-28 day
Norinyl 1/35-21 day
Norinyl 1/35-28 day
Tri-Norinyl-21 day
Tri-Norinyl-28 day
Wyeth Lo/Ovral-21 day
Lo/Ovral-28 day
Nordette-21 day
Nordette-28 day
Mini-Pill
Ortho Micronor
Syntex Nor-Q.D.
Wyeth Ovrette
Religious Aspects of Birth Control.
The evolution of the birth control pill from pure contraceptive to frequent abortifacient poses important questions to pro-life activists.
Many women (including pro-lifers) who would never even consider a surgical abortion now use low-dose birth control pills that cause them to abort on an average of once or twice every year. A large number of pro-life women use these pills, and these are usually the women who cannot seem to make the connection between contraception and abortion in their minds.
These women and their husbands are employing a self-defense mechanism known as denial, and this eventually causes their entire pro-life philosophy to unravel. Ironically, the average pro-abortion woman has at most two or three surgical abortions during her childbearing years, while the average 'pro-life' woman on the Pill for ten years aborts at least ten times.
Some researchers (using very conservative figures) have calculated that the birth control pill directly causes between 1.53 and 4.15 million chemical abortions per year between one and two and a half times the total number of surgical abortions committed in this country every year![7]
'Catholics' for a Free Choice plays upon this theme constantly. It conducts well-publicized 'surveys' that purport to show that 75% to 80% of all Catholic women are on the Pill. Knowing how little CFFC regards the truth, it is not surprising that this number is an exaggeration. Nevertheless, the actual figures are still distressingly high.
The 1988 National Survey of Family Growth, conducted by the National center for Health Statistics, surveyed thousands of married Catholic couples of childbearing age and found that;
• 40 percent of Catholic women use the pill;
• 16 percent of the women had been neutered;
• 9 percent of the men had been neutered;
• 8 percent use some other artificial method of conception regulation;
• 2 percent use some form of natural family planning; and
• the remaining 25 percent use no form of fertility control, because they are
either naturally infertile or are attempting to get pregnant.[8]
The Catholic Church has recently expanded its definition of abortion to include new drugs and surgical procedures. This expansion has not been necessary until this time because such abortifacient drugs and procedures simply have not existed until recently, and their invention has created a new 'grey area' that needed to be clarified.
The Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law, on November 24, 1988, stated that abortion is not only "the expulsion of the immature fetus," but is also "the killing of the same fetus in any way and at any time from the moment of conception."
This definition of abortion includes the use of any of the following;
• all birth control pills, because every birth control pill manufactured
today causes early abortions part of the time;
• mini-pills, morning-after pills, and true abortion pills such as RU-486;
• injectable or insertable abortifacients such as NORPLANT and
Depo-Provera; and
• the use of all intrauterine devices (IUDs), which are all abortifacients and
act by preventing the implantation of the already-fertilized zygote.
The Four Types of Pill.
Overview.
There are currently four types of birth control pill manufactured in the United States. These are the high-dose pill, the low-dose pill, the mini-combination pill, and the 'mini-pill.'
These pills and their modes of action are described in the following paragraphs.
The High-Dose Pill.
The high-dose pills, which have generally fallen out of favor in this country, contained from 1 to 15 milligrams of progestin and/or 50 to 120 micrograms of estrogen, a natural female hormone. Essentially, they functioned by making the woman's body 'think' that it was continuously pregnant.
The high-dose pills were primarily biphasic. Their primary mechanism involved the suppression of gonadotropin production and therefore ovulation. They also caused changes in the consistency and acidity of cervical mucus, making it more difficult for sperm to penetrate and live in the cervix. Finally, they occasionally caused certain changes in the environment of the endometrium, making implantation more difficult.
When the high-dose Pill functioned via this last mechanism, it was an abortifacient if the woman experienced a 'breakthrough' ovulation. Although this occurred only during about 1 to 12 percent of all cycles, it was not the primary intent of the manufacturers.
These pills have, for the most part, been pulled from the United States market due to their dangerous side effects. Naturally, they are still dumped relentlessly on poor women in developing countries. The fact that these same side effects are being inflicted upon women outside our country means little to the manufacturers or to so-called "women's rights" groups.
The Low-Dose Pill.
The low-dose biphasic and triphasic pills function in essentially the same manner as the high-dose pill. However, a much higher percentage of ovulation occurs in women who use the low-dose pills. This means that women who use these pills frequently conceive, and the low-dose pills prevent implantation of the new human individual, thereby acting more often as true abortifacients. Some pro-abortionists will try to deny this abortifacient action. In such cases, we must ask them why they so fanatically oppose a Human Life Amendment partially on the grounds that it would allegedly outlaw the Pill as being abortifacient.
The Mini-Combination Pill.
These pills also function by inhibiting ovulation and causing changes in cervical mucus. However, their primary mode of operation is abortifacient, because they prevent implantation by causing changes in the endometrium (the uterine lining).
The Mini-Pill.
The primary mechanism of these pills has not been pinpointed, although women who use them almost always ovulate. Therefore, these pills function primarily as abortifacients.
It is known that pills which contain only progestin alter the cervical mucus. They also interfere with implantation by affecting the endometrium and suppressing ovulation in some patients by reducing the presence of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
This mechanism is confirmed by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which stated that "Progestin-only contraceptives are known to alter the cervical mucus, exert a progestinal effect on the endometrium, interfering with implantation, and, in some patients, suppress ovulation."[5]
The manufacturers of the minipills also acknowledge this mode of action. For example, Syntex Laboratory spokesman Russ Wilks announced that its progestin-only Pill "... did not interfere with ovulation ... It seems to affect the endometrium so that a fertilized egg cannot be implanted."[9]
In other words, the Pill is now truly "birth control" not conception control, as was originally intended.
Direct Effects of the Pill.
Pregnancy.
Most people would intuitively expect that the massive distribution and use of the birth control pill would drastically cut down on the number of "unwanted pregnancies" in this country.
However, research by leading population experts has proven just the opposite.
The manufacturers of the Pill and the medical community have touted the drug as virtually invincible for more than a quarter of a century. It is therefore quite natural for women to believe that they are immune from pregnancy when they ingest it.
This attitude of 'invincibility' naturally leads to carelessness in the use of the Pill.
Only about 11 percent of all women who use the Pill do so correctly, according to researcher Deborah Oakley of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in a 1989 study.[10]
This sloppiness is the major contributor to an incredible number of unintended pregnancies, especially among younger women. There are about 630,000 pregnancies annually among women who are on the Pill, and more than 80 percent of these pregnancies occur among women who are 15 to 24 years old.
Among women 15 to 24 years, old, the method effectiveness of the birth control pill is 96.2 percent per year. This sounds very good indeed; but the method effectiveness refers to the efficiency of the Pill when a woman is in very good health and uses the Pill without error. When user error is factored in, the result is the actual user effectiveness rate, also referred to as the overall effectiveness rate.[10]
Dr. Christopher Tietze has defined the user effectiveness rate as "Performance under real life conditions, including any accidental pregnancies during regular or irregular use of the method under study by excluding pregnancies following discontinuation of contraception or adoption of another method."[11]
The overall effectiveness rate for the low-dose Pill is 89 percent per year. This still sounds good until a person calculates the probability of a woman of 15 to 24 years of age becoming pregnant over an extended period of time when using the Pill, as shown below.
PROBABILITY OF PREGNANCY AMONG WOMEN USING THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL
Period of Pill Use Probability of Pregnancy
6 months 5%
1 year 11%
2 years 21%
3 years 30%
5 years 44%
7 years 56%
10 years 69%
In summary, if a girl of 15 who is fornicating begins to use the pill, and uses it without cease, there is a better than 50 percent chance that she will become pregnant by the time she is 22!
This statistic is even backed up by the pro-abortionists. Planned Parenthood biostatistician Dr. Christopher Tietze said that "Within 10 years, 20 to 50 percent of pill users and a substantial majority of users of other methods may be expected to experience at least one repeat abortion."[12]
Note that Tietze is speaking about repeat (second or greater) abortions here.
These are the young women that sidewalk counselors see in droves, trooping into the abortion mills with bemused expressions on their faces and saying "It's okay because my birth control failed!"
These rates are in line with Alan Guttmacher Institute figures that show that half of all abortion patients in 1987 were practicing contraception during the month in which they conceived, and a substantial proportion of those who were not doing so had stopped using a method only a few months before becoming pregnant.[13] The majority of abortion patients who had stopped using a method prior to becoming pregnant said they had most recently used the pill.[13]
Naturally, these and other statistics are never divulged by those who operate school-based clinics or who push comprehensive sex education programs in our public schools.
For further statistical information on the failure rate of the Pill and other contraceptive methods, see Chapter 99 of Volume III, "Contraceptive Effectiveness."
Unsafe At Any Speed.
According to United States Federal courts, the birth control pill has been classified as "unavoidably unsafe."[14] This means that, implicit in a woman's consent to use the pill, even if she is not entirely informed of its dangers, is an acknowledgement of physical risk.
This legal classification means that women damaged by the Pill have a much harder time recovering damages. Dr. John Hildebrand, an expert in the field, estimates that more than 500 women die every year because of pill-induced effects. This startling number is confirmed by figures provided by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (the world's foremost abortions statistics analyzer) and one of the foremost abortionists in the United States, Warren Hern, as shown below.
It is ironic indeed that the same pill that the Neofeminists pushed so hard as part of their solution to 'excessive illegal abortion deaths' now kills five times as many women per year as illegal abortions themselves did before Roe v. Wade.
CALCULATION OF ANNUAL DEATHS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL
Annual Deaths Deaths
Age Per 100,000 Users Users In Age
Group Nonsmoker Smoker (1000s) Group
15-24 0.7 2.8 4,735 99
25-34 1.7 10.2 3,359 247
35-44 18.2 80.0 345 205
Total Annual Deaths 551
Backup Calculations: See footnote.[15]
Cardiovascular Impacts.
The most dangerous and well-documented side effects commonly associated with the Pill are heart attacks and strokes. The eight-year Nurse's Health Study at Harvard Medical School found that Pill users are 250 percent as likely to have heart attacks and strokes than those who don't use the Pill, probably because the Pill excessively increases blood clotting ability.[16]
However, one of the major findings of the study was that women who get off the Pill have rates of cardiovascular disease equal to that of the general population after a period of one year.
Breast Cancer.
The Fertility and Maternal Health Drugs Advisory Committee is a panel of medical experts that meets to advise the Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on matters regarding drugs that disable the female reproductive function. Its advice is non-binding, but does influence the FDA to a certain extent.
The committee evaluated a study by Dr. Clifford R. Kay of the Royal College of General Practitioners of Manchester, England. Kay studied 46,000 women, half of which were Pill users and half of which were non-users. He found that Pill users were more than three times more likely to develop breast cancer than non-users between the ages of 30 and 34. Kay stated that the Pill may not have been a contributing factor to the increases in cancer because of its long latent period, but that the Pill may "accelerate" the process if it had already begun.
He also said that it was "absolutely critical" that these studies continue, and if they showed a clear connection between the Pill and cancer, that it would be a "devastating condemnation" of the drug.
A second study by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, completed in 1988, showed that the longer women took the pill, the greater their chances of contracting breast cancer. The risk of developing breast cancer was found to be twice as great by age 45 for women who had used the Pill for less than ten years and four times as great for women who had used the Pill for greater than ten years.
Another 1988 study by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration, found that women who had never had children and who began menstruating before the age of 13 had an increased risk of breast cancer depending on how long they had used the pill.
FDA Reactions.
Despite being presented with the results of these and many other studies, a special Food and Drug Administration panel said in early 1989 that the data was "not conclusive," and refused to place new warning labels on oral contraceptives.[17]
We must remember that the Pill manufacturers have a huge stake in obscuring the results of studies that show that the Pill is harmful and this stake is not only monetary but philosophical, in that it supports their population control agenda.
Indirect Impacts of the Pill.
Introduction.
The direct results of the Pill, as described above, include many thousands of dead or injured women over the last quarter century. The indirect impacts of the Pill are much more diffuse but even more damaging to society in general. The Pill indirectly impacts not only women, but men and children as well.
The Pill cannot be assigned all of the blame for these damaging effects. However, since it is a more popular birth control method than any of the other artificial means, it must bear a large portion of the responsibility for sexual promiscuity, the increase of illegitimate births, the explosion of venereal diseases, and the degradation of marriage, as described in the following paragraphs.
Indirect Effect: Increased Promiscuity.
It goes without saying that the wide availability a drug like the birth control pill would appeal strongly to those persons with no particular sense of sexual ethics.
After the Pill was introduced in the mid-1960s, fornication and 'shacking up' both almost doubled in a period of only five years. This behavior also increased steeply when abortion was legalized in 1973.
People of all ages (but especially teenagers) are fornicating more than ever before. Wife-swapping clubs, sex addiction treatment organizations, hard-core pornography, and 'fantasy [sex] tours' to Far East nations have increased tremendously.
Even the original developers of the birth control pill now acknowledge that their invention has led to widespread promiscuity. Dr. Robert Kirstner of Harvard Medical School said that "For years I thought the pill would not lead to promiscuity, but I've changed my mind. I think it probably has."[18]
And Dr. Min-Chueh Chang, one of the co-developers of the birth control pill, has acknowledged that "[Young people] indulge in too much sexual activity ... I personally feel the pill has rather spoiled young people. It's made them more permissive."[19]
Dr. Alan Guttmacher, former director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, also drew a clear picture of the connection between abortion and contraception within the context of increased promiscuity; "When an abortion is easily obtainable, contraception is neither actively nor diligently used. If we had abortion on demand, there would be no reward for the woman who practiced effective contraception. Abortion on demand relieves the husband of all possible responsibility; he simply becomes a coital animal."[20]
Finally, psychologists Eugene Sandburg and Ralph Jacobs noted the obvious connection between contraception and abortion as birth control; "As legal abortion has become increasingly available, it has become evident that some women are now intentionally using abortion as a substitute for contraception."[21]
Dr. Min-Chueh's quote, above, showed that he was certainly correct in his assessment of the situation. In 1970, only 4.6 percent of all girls aged 15 had fornicated before marriage. In 1990, this rate had increased more than sevenfold to 33.1 percent. Of all unmarried girls in the 15 to 19 age bracket, 28.6 percent had fornicated in 1970. This rate had more than doubled to 61.4 percent by 1990.[22]
Indirect Effect: Illegitimate Births.
The inevitable result of the combination of increases in fornication and of 'unwanted pregnancy' is obviously an increase in illegitimate births.
Professor Kingsley Davis of the United States Commission on Population Growth and the American Future states that "The current belief that illegitimacy will be reduced if teenage girls are given an effective contraceptive is an extension of the same reasoning that created the problem in the first place. It reflects an unwillingness to face problems of social control and social discipline, while trusting some technological device to extricate society from its difficulties. The irony is that the illegitimacy rise occurred precisely while contraceptive use was becoming more, rather than less, widespread and respectable."[23]
The illegitimacy rate for births among teenaged girls hovered around five to seven percent for decades, until about 1960. Between 1960 and 1970, it doubled as the birth control pill helped usher in the 'Sexual Revolution.' After 1970, the teenage illegitimacy rate literally exploded as comprehensive sex education programs and school-based clinics were introduced.
The overall illegitimacy rate for all children born in the United States was 5 percent in 1960. This rate has more than quintupled to more than 28%.[4]
This phenomenon is not just an ethical or religious concern: It is a profoundly practical one. It is common knowledge that children born into one-parent families are more likely to be abused and abusive, are much more likely to be undereducated and underemployed, are much more likely to have illegitimate children themselves, and are much more prone to criminal activity.
Indirect Effect: Increased Venereal Diseases.
Because it is not a 'barrier method,' the birth control pill does absolutely nothing to halt the spread of venereal diseases. Quite the contrary: it has contributed greatly to promiscuity, and venereal diseases have exploded as a result.
In 1920, VD was concentrated in a very small segment of the population: Prostitutes, a few promiscuous sodomites, and a small percentage of men (and sometimes women) who had the financial means to seduce a succession of sexual partners.
Only twelve sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) were catalogued in 1920, and seven of them were rare indeed. Today, there are over 50 recognized strains of STD, and more are being created and discovered every year.
AIDS was nonexistent in 1920, and now it has killed more than 125,000 people in the United States alone.
Dr. V. Livingstone, in her mid-1940s public health work in New York and New Jersey, noted that virtually all long-time prostitutes had contracted cervical cancer from almost continuous sexual activity. Now, fifty years later, there is an incredible rise in the nationwide incidence of cervical cancer among promiscuous young women who are not prostitutes.[24]
Herpes used to be rare in this country, but now more than three million Americans are infected, with 300,000 more joining the ranks of the 'elect' every year. Symptoms include flue-like indications after about a week. The virus usually resides near the spinal cord, and returns to the site(s) of infection at fairly regular intervals, causing successive rounds of symptoms to occur. Genital herpes is very easily transmitted, is incurable, and changes a person's entire lifestyle until the day he or she dies.
The incidence of genital warts (Condyloma), which are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), has increased by a factor of 800% since the birth control pill came into wide use. The latent period ranges from a month to a year, so a newly-infected person may transmit the virus very easily before realizing he is diseased. The infected person must usually undergo repeated treatments involving cauterization, laser burning, or use of powerful drugs such as podophyllin or trichloroacetic acid.[24]
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is not an STD, but is commonly caused by gonorrhea, chlamydial infection, and other STDs. It is a broad term referring to a group of infections that lodge in the uterus, ovaries, and Fallopian tubes. About 15 percent of all women will suffer from PID at some point in their lives, and 1 million new cases are reported each year.
PID is a serious matter.
About one-fourth of all outbreaks are severe enough to warrant hospitalization, and about 150 women die of PID each year. PID causes half of the 60,000 annual cases of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies in the United States. Tubal pregnancies account for about ten percent of all pregnancy-related deaths, and its incidence has tripled since 1965. The primary cause of this increase in PID has been the increase of gonorrhea and chlamydia.[24]
In conclusion, the rate of infection with various venereal diseases is greater today than it ever has been in the United States. A large percentage of the blame for this explosion of diseases must be laid squarely on the doorstep of the inventors and peddlers of the birth control pill.
Rolling Stone Magazine had it right for once when it declared in a March 4, 1982 editorial that "Some wrathful deity is extracting revenge for our decade-long orgy."
Indirect Effect: Degradation of Marriage.
Anyone who alleges that the Pill has 'damaged the institution of marriage' is liable to be met with hoots of derision from knee-jerking Neoliberals.
But we should look at the facts supporting this conclusion before dismissing it out of hand.
In 1965, before the Pill became widely available, about 15 percent of all couples lived together before marriage. The major reason for the relatively low incidence of this arrangement was simple: Living together meant more sex, and more sex meant a greater chance of a pregnancy in a nation where abortion was still illegal.
Today, many young unmarried women are on the Pill. They therefore have no reason not to fornicate freely and cohabit before marriage if they feel like it.
As a result, more than 40 percent of all couples in the United States now live together ('shack up') before marriage. Their reason: They want to make sure that they're "compatible." They don't want to rush into something that might not work and cause pain for everyone involved. They say that it's best to have a trial run first. Just to make sure, you see.
Sound sensible?
Of course it does! Is it sensible? Of course not!
In 1989, James Bumpass, James Sweet, and Andrew Cherlin of the University of Wisconsin completed a long-term study to determine the effect of prenuptial cohabitation on marriage. Their findings showed that more than 75 percent of all couples who lived together before marriage eventually divorced. This is a rate of more than 50 percent greater than the general population![25]
Why is this?
There are two primary reasons;
(1) Those people who 'shack up' are less traditional in their values. True commitment and a willingness to 'work at it' are far more important to the success of a marriage than a self-serving "fling." Obviously, many of those who 'shack up' initially do not intend to get married.
(2) Those who have 'shacked up' are naturally far more likely to commit adultery in marriage than those who haven't. This makes sense adultery is, like fornication, a tangible result of lack of discipline and self-control. Those who get used to "serial monogamy" before marriage see no reason why they can't continue to practice it after marriage.
So it is obvious that the Pill has contributed greatly to our country's exploding divorce rate, which was about 18 percent in 1965 and now stands at about 50 percent.
Unfortunately, the innocent children of divorced couples are always those who suffer the most. But the Neofeminists and sexologists simply write them off as sort of "casualties of friendly fire," inevitable victims of the Sexual Revolution and the war against one's own sexuality. According to the 'sexperts,' there can be no impediment to the rush for self-gratification, self-indulgence, self-actualization, or self-destruction not even children, regardless of whether they are born or preborn.
References: The Birth Control Pill.
[1] Dr. Christopher Tietze. "Abortion and Contraception." Abortion: Readings and Research. Butterworth & Company, Toronto, Canada. 1981, pages 54 to 60.
[2] Garrett Hardin. "The History and Future of Birth Control." Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Autumn 1966.
[3] Bogamir M. Kuhar, Ph.D. "Pharmaceutical Companies: The New Abortionists." Reprint 16 from Human Life International, 7845-E Airpark Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879.
[4] United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Reference Data Book and Guide to Sources, Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. 1990 (110th Edition), 991 pages. Table 56, "Unmarried Couples Living Together," Table 96, "Births By Status of Mother), Table 99, "Contraceptive Use By Women, 15-44 Years Old, By Age, Race, Marital Status, and Method of Contraception: 1982," and Table 127, "Marriages and Divorces."
[5] Federal Register, 41:236, December 7, 1976, page 53,634.
[6] Advertisement by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation in Hippocrates Magazine, May/June 1988, page 35.
[7] Fertility and Sterility, 48:3, 1987, pages 409 to 413. Also see Van der Vange, Contemporary Obstetrics, ed. Chamberlain, 1988. Also see Population Studies, 23, 1959, pages 455 to 461.
[8] Catholic News Service. "Most Catholic Women Ignore Church-Accepted Form of Birth Control." The [Portland, Oregon] Catholic Sentinel, January 24, 1992, page 7.
[9] United Press International release in the Cincinnati Post, January 11, 1973.
[10] Kim Painter. "Most Users of the Pill Don't Follow Directions." USA Today, February 21, 1990, page D1.
[11] Christopher Tietze and Stanley Lewit. "Statistical Evaluation of Contraceptive Methods." Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 17:121-138 (1974).
[12] Christopher Tietze, quoted in the National Abortion Rights Action League's A Speaker's and Debater's Guidebook. June 1978, page 24.
[13] "The Characteristics Of, and Prior Contraceptive Use of U.S. Abortion Patients." Alan Guttmacher Institute, Family Planning Perspectives, July/August 1988, page 158. As described in "Pro-Abortion Forces Confirm Contraceptive Failure." Life in Oregon (newsletter of Oregon Right to Life), May 1989, page 6.
[14] Thomas P. Monaghan, Co-Chairman, Free Speech Advocates. "Unavoidably Unsafe." Fidelity Magazine, October 1987, pages 14 and 15.
[15] These calculations assume that one-fourth of all women in each age group are smokers. Death rates are obtained from Warren Hern. Abortion Practice. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1990, 340 pages. Page 45. From H. Ory. "Mortality Associated with Fertility and Fertility Control: 1983." Family Planning Perspectives, 15:57, 1983. The number of pill users by age group is from Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce. National Data Book and Guide to Sources, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1990 (110th Edition). Table 99, "Contraceptive Use By Women, 15-44 Years Old, By Age, Race, Marital Status, and Method of Contraception: 1982."
[16] Dr. Meir J. Stampfer. New England Journal of Medicine, November 24, 1988. This study was based on an eight-year followup of 119,061 female nurses, ranging in age from 30 to 55 in 1980. 7,074 were current pill users and 49,269 were previous users. Overall, there were 380 heart attacks, 205 strokes, and 230 cardiovascular deaths among pill users.
[17] Marlene Cimons, LA Times-Washington Post Service. "New Warning Labels Ruled Out for Oral Contraceptive Pills." The Oregonian, January 6, 1988, page A14.
[18] Dr. Robert Kirstner, Harvard Medical School, one of the original developers of the birth control pill. Quoted in ALL About Issues, June 1981, page 5.
[19] Dr. Min-Chueh Chang, one of the inventors of the birth control pill. Quoted by Charles E. Rice. "Nature's Intolerance of Abuse." ALL About Issues, August 1981, page 6.
[20] Dr. Alan Guttmacher in a discussion at the Law, Morality and Abortion Symposium, held at Rutgers University Law School, March 27, 1968. Rutgers Law Review, 1968(22):415-443.
[21] Eugene C. Sandburg, M.D. and Ralph I. Jacobs, M.D. "Psychology of the Misuse and Rejection of Contraception." American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, May 15, 1971, pages 227 to 237.
[22] "The US Family Staggers Into the Sexy Secular Future." Family Research Newsletter, January-March 1991, page 1, Table 1 entitled "Percentage of Women Aged 15-19 Who Reported Having Had Premarital Sexual Intercourse, By Race and Age United States, 1970-1988." Numbers from 1988 to 1992 linearly extrapolated using 1985-1988 rates.
[23] Professor Kingsley Davis. "The American Family, Relation to Demographic Change." Research Reports, United States Commission on Population Growth and the American Future. Volume I, Demographic and Social Aspects of Population Growth, edited by Robert Parke, Jr., and Charles F. Westoff. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1972, page 253.
[24] Julia Kagan. "Sexual Freedom: The Medical Price Women are Paying." McCall's Magazine, May 1980, page 104. Also see American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Committee on Patient Education. Patient Education Pamphlets Nos. P-009 ("Sexually Transmitted Diseases"), P-054 ("Genital Herpes"), P-073 ("Genital Warts"), and P-077 ("Pelvic Inflammatory Disease"). Also see Marsha F. Goldsmith. "Sexually Transmitted Diseases May Reverse the 'Revolution.'" Journal of the American Medical Association, April 4, 1986, pages 1,665 to 1,672.
[25] Dale Vree. "Hey, it Sounds Plausible." National Catholic Register, May 7, 1989, page 5.
Further Reading: The Birth Control Pill.
Nona Aguilar. No-Pill, No-Risk Birth Control.
New York: Rawson, Wade Publishers, 1980. 235 pages; paperback, hardback. Reviewed by Edward F. Keefe in the Spring 1980 issue of the International Review of Natural Family Planning, pages 81 to 84, and by Rose Fuller on pages 177 to 179 of the Summer 1986 issue of the same publication. This book extols the virtues of natural family planning while explaining the "shocks" to the system of sterilization and the various methods of artificial contraception. A good 'theory' book.
American Life League. "The Birth Control Game: Gambling with Life."
Order from American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford, Virginia 22554. How IUDs and the birth control pills work by killing new human life.
Bernadell Technical Bulletin.
An excellent bibliography of more than 150 sources on the effects of abortion and contraception (including abortifacient birth control pills and IUDs) on fertility may be found in the November 1990 issue of the Bernadell Technical Bulletin, pages 7 to 9. Order this back issue of the Bulletin from Post Office Box 1897, New York, New York 10113-0950.
John R. Cavanaugh, M.D. The Popes, the Pill, and the People: A Documentary Study.
The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee. 1965, 130 pages. This interesting book, written and published before Humanae Vitae was issued, describes the impacts of the Pill on society and on women's bodies long before the debate was obscured by the power of the press and the drug companies. The author also describes the impacts of the pill on menstrual regulation and its effects upon nursing mothers. Most importantly, he talks about the neverchanging position of the Church on artificial contraception.
Couple to Couple League. "The Pill and the IUD: Some Facts for an Informed Choice."
Pamphlet available for 10 cents from the Couple to Couple League, Post Office Box 11084, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211. Telephone: (513) 661-7612.
Carl Djerassi. The Politics of Contraception.
New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1980. Illustrated, 274 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Hacker in the Summer 1980 issue of the International Review of Natural Family Planning, pages 179 to 181. This is a fascinating book purely because it gives us insight into the mind of Dr. Carl Djerassi, one of the original inventors of the birth control pill. By reading this book, one can examine the very roots and beginnings of the anti-life, anti-natalist philosophy.
J.C. Espinoza, M.D. Birth Control: Why Are They Lying to Women?
Paperback. Order from: Life Issues Bookshelf, Sun Life, Thaxton, Virginia 24174, telephone: (703) 586-4898, or from Our Lady's Book Service, Nazareth Homestead, R.D. 1, Box 258, Constable, New York 12926, telephone: 1-800-263-8160. Reviewed by Eugene F. Diamond, M.D., on page 32 of the February 1983 ALL About Issues. The eugenicists, the birth-control profitmakers, and the Neomalthusians have concocted an effective and pervasive propaganda campaign against population. This propaganda is filled with lies, half-truths, and distortions. Dr. Espinoza's book exposes the health hazards of artificial contraception and shows that safe and effective natural family planning is really the only way to go from a practical standpoint. Also available in Spanish as El Control De La Natalidad: Porque Les Mienten A Las Mujeres?
Ellen Grant, M.D. The Bitter Pill: How Safe Is the 'Perfect Contraceptive?'
London: Elm Tree Books, 1985. 7.95 pounds, 184 pages.
Natalee S. Greenfield. "First Do No Harm ...:" A Dying Woman's Battle Against the Physicians and Drug Companies Who Misled Her About the Hazards of THE PILL.
Sun River Press, Two Continents Publishing Group, 30 East 42nd Street, New York, New York 10017. 1976. The author follows the story of Kathryn Stuart, her daughter, whose breast cancer was fatally accelerated by the birth control pill, which she was encouraged to take by doctors. Her husband, so typical of many men, wanted a sterile wife and divorced Kathryn when she refused to take the pill for health reasons. The doctors condemned her as "neurotic" even when she was in agony, because she realized what was happening to her and fought back.
Greenhaven Press. Human Sexuality: Opposing Viewpoints.
Greenhaven Press Opposing Viewpoints Series, Post Office Box 289009, San Diego, California 92128-9009. 1989, 440 pages. This series consists of a basic volume followed by annual updates by the same name. The main arguments for and against each idea are written by the leading activists in each field. Topics covered include contraceptives (the birth control pill and condoms are emphasized), AIDS, homosexuality, and abortion. This topic is covered by a series of books, beginning with a basic set of essays entitled Sources and continuing with an additional and updated annual series of essays. A catalog is available from the above address and can be obtained by calling 1-(800) 231-5163.
Human Life International. Project Abortifacients.
June 1991, 23 pages. This summary report, updated periodically by Human Life International, lists major quotes and many major studies on the abortifacient mode of action and side effects of the most common abortifacients: The birth control pill, the intra-uterine device (IUD), NORPLANT, RU-486, and Depo-Provera. Available from Human Life International, 7845-E Airpark Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879.
George A. Kelly (editor). Human Sexuality in Our Time: What the Church Teaches.
1978: Paperback. Order from: Life Issues Bookshelf, Sun Life, Thaxton, Virginia 24174, telephone: (703) 586-4898. Proceedings of the Spring 1978 conference by St. John's University's Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholic Doctrine. Topics include Catholics and the Pill; the Bible and human sexuality; the morality and sanctity of sex; and what the Church teaches on sex.
John F. Kippley. "Birth Control and Christian Discipleship."
1985, paperback, 36 pages. Order from the Couple to Couple League, Post Office Box 111184, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211-1184, or from Life Issues Bookshelf, Sun Life, Thaxton, Virginia 24174, telephone: (703) 586-4898. This superb booklet outlines the history of artificial contraception, its effects upon the body, the family and society in general, and the history of traditional Scriptural and Christian opposition to it (both Protestant and Catholic), until the collapse of the Church's resistance in the period 1930 to 1970.
James W. Knight and Joan C. Callahan. Preventing Birth: Contemporary Methods and Related Moral Controversies.
University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1989. 350 pages. This book pretty thoroughly covers the history, politics, and types of birth control, some information on human reproductive anatomy and how the birth control methods work, techniques of abortion and types and modes of action of various abortifacients, and a short section on the various issues related to abortion. This is a book that takes the widest possible view of the abortion debate, sweeping in almost every tangential issue, and is recommended for those who would like to pursue the connections between abortion and artificial contraception further.
Donald H. Merkin. Pregnancy as a Disease: The Pill in Society.
Kennikat Press, Port Washington, New York. 1976, 135 pages. A very interesting look at how the birth control pill was introduced into the United States. The author discusses the psychology of "pregnancy as disease;" detailed information concerning the various measures applied to the impacts of the Pill; and the social demography associated with using American women in "the most massive experiment ever conducted." Drug litigation and diethylstilbestrol (DES) are also covered.
John Warwick Montgomery. Slaughter of the Innocents: Abortion, Birth Control, and Divorce in Light of Science, Law, and Theology.
1981, Crossway Books, 9825 West Roosevelt Road, Westchester, Illinois 60153. This book, among other topics, covers how to decide whether or not to use artificial birth control methods; marriage, divorce, and abortion from a Christian perspective; and the historical Christian perspective of the unborn child.
Physicians Desk Reference
(PDR), updated annually, contains a comprehensive inventory of virtually all drugs currently available in the United States, including birth control pills. The PDR includes photographs of the pills and detailed information on their chemical contents.
Father Paul J. Quay. The Christian Meaning of Human Sexuality.
115 pages. Order from Ignatius Press, 15 Oakland Avenue, Harrison, New York 10528, telephone: 1-800-528-0559. Using Scripture and the writings of distinguished (conservative) theologians, Father Quay explains the understanding of human sexuality that divine revelation offers us. This book is written for Christian adults who want to know what kinds of sexual behavior are right and wrong and who want to gain true insight into why such behavior is right or wrong.
John Rock. The Time Has Come.
Avon Books, 959 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10019. 1963, 186 pages, 75 cents originally. This book is profoundly interesting from a historical point of view because the author, one of the original developers of the birth control pill, tells us why we Americans (and Catholics in particular) should accept the birth control pill. The book, written five years before the encyclical Humanae Vitae was released, was published when birth control was being debated as hotly as abortion is being debated now. It is also fascinating because it gives precisely the same reasoning as pro-abortionists do now. The author inadvertently gives us a classic treatise on the intimate connections between abortion and birth control.
Barbara Seaman. The Doctors' Case Against the Pill.
Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York. 1980, 230 pages. This book, which comes highly recommended by the pro-abortion Neofeminist group The Boston Women's Health Book Collective (of Our Body fame), covers in great detail the many aspects of the debate surrounding the birth control pill, with the vast majority of the emphasis on the physical dangers associated with it blood clots, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, jaundice, gum disease, sterility, genetic changes, irritability, depression, urinary infections, and arthritis. Alternatives to the Pill are also discussed.
United States Government. Approved Drug Products With Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations.
Lists current market prescription drug products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and therapeutic equivalent products. Excellent for conscientious pro-lifers who want to boycott Upjohn, Rousell-Uclaf, and other death peddlers. Serial Number 917-016-00000-3, 1990. Order by mail from Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, or by telephone from (202) 783-3238.
United States Government, Food and Drug Administration. Requirements of Laws and Regulations Enforced by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
This publication is intended to be a cross reference to the major requirements of laws and regulations administered by the FDA. This book could come in handy for pro-lifers trying to track the distribution of new IUDs, NORPLANT, and the resurgence of the use of Depo-Provera by poor women. Serial Number 017-012-00343-5, 1989, 85 pages. Order by mail from Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, or by telephone from (202) 783-3238.
© American Life League BBS — 1-703-659-7111
This is a chapter of the Pro-Life Activist's Encyclopedia, published by American Life League.
