Birth control: It means not getting pregnant before you are ready. It means the power to space out children in your family. Some forms can protect you from STIs and HIV. It is a basic health need, and all people have the right to equal information and access to it.

It has been nearly 50 years since the birth control pill was invented and 35 years since it became legally available to all women in the United States. But activists on the far right are trying to roll back the clock, attacking this basic health need in new and old ways.  

Far right activists believe their “morals” should control everyone’s reproductive and sexual health choices. We must keep fighting for all women to have access to contraception, and we must not let social conservatives control our national dialogue about this basic health need.
 
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What do you think about contraceptive access in your country or state? Do you have access? Have you had trouble getting or affording birth control? Write a blog about contraceptive access.

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Read about related issues on Amplify

Condoms
HIV
Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs
Unintended Pregnancy
Social Justice and Human Rights

Report Card

How did your state do on its Report Card? Check out your state’s grades for sexual health, sex education, Title V Abstinence-Only Funding, CBAE Community-Based Abstinence Education funding, and school safety for GLBTQ youth.

HealthFacts: Contraception

Learn about methods of contraception: what they are, how to use them, and the advantages and disadvantages of contraception options.

Other Resources

Need current, reliable information on this topic? Check out the links below for the latest research.

Adolescent Maternal Mortality: An Overlooked Crisis

Adolescent Protective Behaviors: Abstinence and Contraceptive Use

Condom Effectiveness

International Family Planning and the Unmet Needs of Reproductive Health for Youth

Do you have a question about using contraception?

Ask one of Advocates’ MySistahs or YouthResource Peer Educators!