Birth control is an extremely personal choice for each couple and for each woman. For some, an IUD feels risky, a condom less pleasurable, a daily pill impractical. Doctors are constantly on the lookout for breakthroughs that might allow for more convenient and safe contraception.
A recent push from both medical experts and the masses for “post-fertilization contraception” might provide a solution for some women. A “pregnancy-disrupting drug [designed to be taken once a month] already exists,” reports New York Magazine’s Kat Stoeffel. And guess what? It is far less expensive than emergency pills that must be administered within 72 hours of intercourse.
New York Gynuity Health Project’s pioneer Elizabeth Raymond fears that the medication may stir up some controversy. She explains that pre-fertilization methods are often idealized and “something that works after fertilization is [implied to be] bad.” But what people might not realize is that many of the other forms of birth control methods used today also take affect after fertilization.
Stoeffel’s article begs the question, why should this new method be stigmatized when similar birth control options are not? As Raymond stresses, every woman is different, and the choice is personal: “[Post-fertilization] contraception doesn’t have to be acceptable to every woman … No method is acceptable to every woman now.” Every woman out there should have access to safe birth control that she herself is comfortable.
How would you feel about a once-monthly pill? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks to New York Magazine
Image via Northern Virginia Magazine/ Brian A Jackson
