The Pill | 1960essay

“The Pill”

If you’re a woman and take some form of birth control, you understand the true power of not only the pill, but also the shot, implant, patch, and ring. Technology has advanced birth control tremendously over the years, but it all started with one little pill. In 1960 the first oral contraceptive, Enovid was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. A woman named Margaret Sanger underwrote the research to create the first human birth control. In order for this project to be successful she raised $150,000. (Thompson 8) Although the FDA’s approval of birth control had many objections and high costs, this lowered birth rates and has had a huge impact on the world.

Fifty years ago, “The Pill came into market. On June 23, 1960 the birth control pill was first available for purchase in the U.S. for contraceptive uses. This day was a major event in U.S. history for many women. Before this, the Food and Drug Administration had already approved hormone pills to treat menstrual disorders, such as irregular periods or PMS. But in May of 1960 the FDA cleared the use of Enovid (name of an oral contraceptive) and by June 23, 1960 “the pill” was on the market. Sanger, opened the first birth control clinic in 1916, in hopes to encourage the development of a more practical and effective contraceptive.

Today teen and adult women do not usually have to worry about the cost of different birth controls because we are lucky to have some type of insurance to cover it. In 1960 when the FDA approved the sale of contraceptives the main problem was the cost. In 1961 Time Magazine noted “Enovid proved to have remarkably few undesirable side effects: in her first month or two on the pills, a woman may be nauseated, and may gain weight. The main trouble with Enovid, as with all progestins, was cost. The pills were priced to retail at 50 cents or 55 cents each, and one a day for 20 days meant $10 or $11 a month. Last week Searle cut it price by 30%, which should bring the retail price down to $7 or $8… And Searle promptly cut this a further 50% by convincing the FDA that five milligrams will inhibit ovulation just as well as ten, making the net cost to the consumer $3.50 to $4 a month.” (Gibson 39) As seen in the past quote, $10 or $11 a month doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but in 1961 $10 was equal to about $80 today.

When the Food and Drug Association approved birth control as safe, and saleable the birth rate dropped because 2.3 million American women were using the pill by 1963. In 1960 the birth rate per woman was 3.65 births, after the FDA approved the use of the pill, the birth rate decreased and by 1965 it had dropped to 2.91 births per woman. The number of births in the United States in 1960 was 4,257,850, and by 1965 it had already dropped to 3,760,358. Although the number of births today is higher than it was in 1965, it is still lower than it was in 1960.

Objections to birth control happened all the time after it was approved. The main reason so many people didn’t like the idea of this contraceptive was because of their religion. Mainly in the 60’s it was the Roman Catholics objecting because they believe it is a sin. Although times have changed and many women from all different religions use birth control, in that day it was highly frowned upon. Not only did the Roman Catholics not like it, but so did many other religions and groups. It was not until women saw the benefits of it that they joined the movement also.

In conclusion, the impact of this controversial pill had a major impact all over the world, on religions, birth rates, and forms of contraceptives. Many women feel like one of the many different types of birth control are live savers, not only because they are an extra contraceptive, but because they also help with hormones and menstrual cycles. Although many people are skeptical of some forms of birth control, many studies and hard work was put into finding different methods to help women not only in the U.S., but around the world.

Works Cited

Thompson, Kristen M. J. “A brief history of birth control in the U.S.”

Our Bodies Ourselves. Our Bodies Ourselves, 14 Dec. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.

“American experience”. Online, PBS, and WGBH. 1999. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

Gibson, Megan. One factor that kept the women of 1960 away from birth control pills: Cost. TIME.com, 23 June 2015. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

“Google Statistics.” Google. n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.

“Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pill on May 9, 1960.” http://www.historylink.org/File/1280. n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

Picture From: https://www.emaze.com/@ALRQFILL/herstory-project-