Humans have sex. A potential consequence of sex is pregnancy. When pregnancy is unwanted, people come up with all sorts of ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Crocodile dung in Ancient Egypt. Half a lemon as a cervical cap.
The birth control pill is one of those many pregnancy-prevention systems developed over the years. One of the things that stands out about the Pill is its effectiveness at preventing unwanted pregnancies. The Pill has a 6% failure rate under typical use, versus an 18% failure rate for condoms. The sponge and the diaphragm have a similar failure rate. When the Pill is used optimally, the failure rate is even lower.
What was most interesting about this show was how they talked about the profound social and economic effects the Pill had on society, especially for women. First, for married women; and then, for young, unmarried women.
Continue reading “The Pill [50 Things That Made the Modern Economy]”
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