Importance of Birth Control

                 Latino USA Perspective

Birth Control Options for Women (Injection, Pill, etc.)

     Birth control is important for many women who do not want to have too many children. Nowadays, opportunities are limited to receive birth control products in the United States, especially for lower-class women. Latino USA is a media website that covers important topics through podcasts and articles, which their coverage revolves around the Latino community. The host of the program titled Birth Control In Times Of Crisis is Maria Hinojosa, which the role of the host is then passed to Marta Martinez. Marta is experiencing what life is like for Ecsibel Henriquez, a woman that is pregnant with her second unplanned child. The date of the podcast is April 9, 2021, and was listened to on April 15, 2021. 

I learned that birth control services have had many limitations and are impacting many women such as Ecsibel. I like how Maria was able to go into detail about the effects of getting rid of birth control services when she says, "For women, losing access to contraceptives, and getting pregnant without planning, can have long-term consequences on their education, professional development, and economic and psychological well-being" (Latino 3:24 - 3:36). Women are impacted in so many ways when contraceptives are removed. This fact has opened my eyes to understanding how hard life is for women that can not get birth control contraceptives. There was little to no bias in this podcast, which I liked. 

The only thing I did not like was not hearing Ecsibel explain her struggles as much as I would like to hear. Although she does speak a lot, I wanted to get a deeper explanation of how birth control services have impacted her life at and outside her home. Besides that, I really liked how informative this podcast was on the topic of birth control.

Birth Control Methods & Their Effectiveness On a Scale

      Standing Up For Birth Control Rights

   The JSTOR article I decided to use is titled "Margaret Sanger, Taking a Stand for Birth Control," which was written by Ingrid Mundt. Ingrid goes into depth about how a woman by the name of Margaret Sanger fought to normalize birth control services when she was constantly ridiculed by many. Because Margaret was able to normalize birth control services, Ingrid pointed out, "In 2016, women bore an average of 1.86 children. Along with the greater availability of contraceptives, this decline allowed more women to pursue higher education, and to seek work outside of their homes (Mundt 128). 

Without Margaret, many women would not have access to contraceptives. Without contraceptives, many women would be struggling with education. Having contraceptives allows women to not become overwhelmed about raising more children than they are capable of handling. Through Ingrid explaining the obstacles that Margaret Sanger had to overcome and the ways that Margaret was able to succeed, I was able to gain a deeper understanding about Margaret Sanger being able to speak up for many women that struggled to express their voice about birth control.

Contraception Usage Pie Chart/Graph

Summary

   To summarize the topic of birth control, it should be addressed more often in the United States because, "Currently, 62% of women in America aged 15-44 use contraceptives, 16% using birth control pills (Mundt 128). Keeping this statistic in mind, we should not deny any services that citizens of this country are entitled to, even if we do not agree with allowing them to receive contraceptives. Prohibiting women from receiving birth control contraceptives will not stop them, but rather influence them to look on the black market. As humans, we should acknowledge the importance of birth control contraceptives and the fact that banning such services will do more harm than good to women in the United States and around the world. 

The topic of birth control is important to countries outside the United States because "access to birth control, and other reproductive services for women in Latin America and around the world, have been impacted by decisions taken in the U.S., specifically with something known as the Mexico City Policy" (Latino 3:45 - 3:59). How the United States makes birth control decisions influences outside countries to follow pursuit to make the same decisions, which could upset many women that do not approve of such decisions. Birth control will remain an issue for many years to come if we continue to push banning the service for all women. Included below is a short YouTube video that is approximately two minutes long and summarizes the benefits of birth control. I decided to use this video because it showcases that birth control has more functions than only preventing pregnancy. 

      Benefits of Birth Control

Works Cited

Bellefonds, Colleen de. “12 Factors to Consider When Choosing the Best Birth Control for You.” Everyday Health, Everyday Health, 15 Mar. 2020, www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health/factors-to-consider-choosing-your-birth-control/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.

“Benefits of Birth Control.” YouTube, uploaded by AllHealthGo, 7 Aug. 2019,                                                 www.youtube.com/watch?v=mguHy6CdD8U&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.

“Birth Control (Contraception).” Birth Control (Contraception) | Student Health and Counseling Services, University of California, Davis, shcs.ucdavis.edu/health-topic/birth-control-contraception. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.

“Countries Where Contraception Is Less Accessible.” Birth Control Around the World, Superdrug Online Doctor, onlinedoctor.superdrug.com/birth-control-around-the-world/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.

Martinez, Marta. “Birth Control In Times Of Crisis.” Latino USA, 9 Apr. 2021, www.latinousa.org/2021/04/09/birthcontrol/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.

Mundt, Ingrid. “Margaret Sanger, Taking a Stand for Birth Control.” The History Teacher, vol. 51, no. 1, 2017, pp. 123–161. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44504545. Accessed 15 Apr. 2021.