Matt Kauer Per.

Bioethics of Contraception
The idea of contraceptives has been seen in society since the beginning of time it seems. But where did it truly start. As early as 1550 B.C. this idea began to show up in manuscripts in ancient Egypt (Time Magazine, 2010). Commonly referred to Birth/ Fertility control includes any method/ device used to prevent pregnancy as a result of intercourse. As you can imagine this is somewhat of a hot topic and concerns most of the women in todays society. As the technology advanced over time and new methods of birth control were born, so did the heated opinions on both sides of the issue. Over time the difference in opinion has become somewhat of an ethical issue. There are people who strongly support the idea of contraceptives, or more so the idea of Planned Parenthood. On the other hand there are those who believe that this is morally and ethically wrong. In 1965 this issue came to a head in the Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut. (Time Magazine, 2010) Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton were arrested for being accessories to the provision of contraceptives. Both being upstanding individuals in society, Buxton, a doctor and professor at Yale Medical School, and Griswold, the executive director of Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, decided to fight it. The two won the case and state legislation prohibiting the use of contraceptives was overthrown by the Supreme Court. (Alex McBride, 2006) This was a key movement in Birth control for women all across the U.S. Throughout the duration of this issue there have been those seen as progressives or proponents to the movement.(Time Magazine, 2010) Some of the more prominent individuals might be Charles Goodyear, Margaret Sanger, Gregory Pincus, and John Rock. These are just

Matt Kauer Per. 1 some of the better known figure due to actions such as founding the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.(A+E Networks 2014)While the severity of this issue seems low today (3-4:10). It used to be a much bigger debate. Many Religious figures such as Pope Pius XI taught during the middle of the 1900s that contraceptives were contrary to the teachings of the church.(Time Magazine, 2010) Overtime this issue has to some degree settled itself. It has become a more widely accepted practice among most modern women. The effects of this can be seen in both a positive and negative light. Being able to plan and prepare for the birth of a child allows the mother and father to be as ready as possible and to ensure they are capable of providing for another member of their family. At the same time it can put a false sense of security in the use of such methods and result in far less than desirable situations for raising children. On the contrary there are some who believe that it is still unacceptable and the practice of such obscenities should never have come about. If this was the case then some say that people would be much more responsible when it comes to intercourse. While this May be true it may also be that it would not affect peoples decisions morally and that a lot more of those undesirable situations would be created.

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Works Cited
Time Magazine (2010) A Brief History of Birth Control http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1983970,00.html

Alex McBride (2006) Land Mark Cases: Griswold v. Connecticut http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_griswold.html

A+E Networks (2014) Margaret Sanger- Biography http://www.biography.com/people/margaret-sanger-9471186?page=3

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