Con

Making the Pill OTC would increase the use of hormonal drugs that may disrupt and damage the body.

The FDA notes the side effects of the Pill include changes in sexual desire, bleeding between periods, sore breasts, headaches, and nausea. Some medical practitioners believe that pharmaceutical contraceptives in general are harmful because women are not as aware of their bodies or their natural cycles when taking synthetic hormones. [74] [78]

Holly Grigg-Spall, health author, stated, “Health problems caused by hormonal contraceptives can appear a few months, a few years or longer into use as each woman processes the synthetic chemicals differently. Yet all women will be changed by these drugs. As a woman’s body changes so does her reaction to the pill. The pill’s repression of vital bodily functions that leads to ill health can build in such a way that years later a woman becomes very sick but can not make the connection.” [78]

Lara Briden, a naturopathic doctor, emphasized these concerns are bigger for teens: “Making hormones is not easy. It requires regular ovulation, and that can take a few years to become established. That’s why the early years of menstruation are exactly the wrong time to take hormonal birth control.” [79]

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