Tl;dr: The Pill is forced on women and when side effects are reported they are not taken serious enough, there needs to be a re- evaluation of how normalised this harmful pill has become. The birth control pill comes with sheets long of probable side effects. When handed my first pill packet at an impressionable age, the side effects encountered by 1/10 women included: depression, breast tenderness, mood changes, migraines and ovarian cysts. Despite this, as soon as a young girl enters a doctors office wanting contraception, struggling with acne or period fluctuations, the pill is generally pushed on them by doctors without fully outlining the consequences of taking this medication. For instance, contraceptive users are 23% more likely to be prescribed anti-depressants in later life. [1] Psychologist Sara E Hill discusses this issue in her book ‘How the pill changes everything’. Discussing how when women bring these issues up with their doctors they are brushed off and told to persevere, not taking the issue serious enough to offer alternatives.[2] An article by Today.com listed a series of women discussing how they were dismissed by doctors when complaining of headaches, etc, some even being told they were ‘attention seeking’. [3] The issue is not necessarily that these side effects exist, it is that women are not taken seriously when bringing this up with their doctor and this is the first solution doctors will jump to with young girls who cannot safely evaluate whether gaining depression is worth losing acne for. There needs to be a re-evaluation of the way these pills are administered and aid for women who experience negative side effects. [1] C Skovlund et al, ‘Association of Hormonal Pill with Depression’, JAMA Psychiatry, 2016 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2552796 [2] Sara E Hill, ‘How The Pill Changes Everything’, 2019 https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Pill-Changes-Everything-Control-ebook/dp/B07QCPS2WV [3] https://www.today.com/health/women-speak-out-about-feeling-dismissed-doctors-t153701

I am old enough to remember the introduction of the pill and whilst I agree with many of your points it is hard for younger people to understand the absolute difference the pill made to womens' lives. Before the pill women entered into "shotgun" marriages rather than face a pregnancy alone with the resulting censure, women had baby after baby, large families often without the means to support them and often late in life when medical risks were greater. Women died in back street abortions. The pill gave women freedom and its part in the whole womens liberation movement is huge. I remember having to prove I had a date for my wedding before they'd prescribe it for me! I'm not discounting the side effects by any means, and further research is certainly necessary, just pointing out that in the scheme of things they are preferable to the alternative.

The contraceptive pill should not be so widely promoted as it not only endorses the implementation of unnecessary hormones into women, but it encourages the onus of sexual responsibility to be entirely on them too. Acne? Go on the pill. Boyfriend won’t wear a condom? Go on the pill. Irregular periods? Go on the pill. Since its introduction in 1967, the contraceptive has been viewed as a 'magic pill' that can solve all our problems. However, by solving our social problem (controlling pregnancy rates), it has caused personal, physical problems: headaches, nausea, tenderness, weight gain, high blood pressure and mood swings: not to mention the long term risks of blood clots and breast cancer… The stark irony, however, is that the common argument against the male contraceptive pill is that it has too many side effects. This represents not only a patriarchal infrastructure that our sexual politics operate in, but also a flawed pharmaceutical system. Though this is perhaps unsurprising when a recent BioPharma Dive analysis revealed that only 15 of the leading 180 biotechs were led by women. Whilst there are other alternatives to contraceptive pills, such as the coil, implant and injections, they all are either overly intrusive or pose similar side effects to those of the contraceptive pill. Nevertheless, in common sexual freedom rhetoric, we are told that these risks outweigh the gains made for women and their sense of liberation. Last month, the UK Government suggested that the ‘mini-pill’ (progestogen-only pills) could be sold over the counter without prescription. Though some described this as "a landmark opportunity in women's health", I question whether it is only widening the chasm between men and women, and the power plays behind sex. Although I am aware of the inherent biological disparity between men and women, I am inclined to believe that the majority of our sexual norms are societal rather than natural. Since the 1960s, we have perpetuated the culture that it is a woman’s problem, when it should in fact be our problem. Or if it is not our problem, we should provide women with a more robust solution for how to navigate a sex life without having to pump her body with artificiality, and accept an uncomfortable existence. The argument here is not about the contraceptive element of the pill, but rather the dangers it presents to women, and ultimately how we need to try harder to give women sexual freedom. Relevant links: - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180822-the-birth-control-pill-can-have-male-side-effects - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/combined-contraceptive-pill/ - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56054265 - https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/female-biotech-ceos-bio-efforts-diversity-goals/558604/ - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03532-6

Assuming this also refers to contraceptives in general. The fewer people we have on this planet, the higher the quality of life per person, and the less we have to watch, restrict, and regulate individual behavior for environmental reasons.