Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first documented attempt to prevent pregnancy dates back to 1550 BC. This ancient effort relied on primitive methods described in the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, which involved inserting honey, acacia leaves, and lint into the vagina to block sperm.
Margaret Sanger and Otto Bobsein popularized the phrase birth control in 1914. The modern birth control movement began to take shape in the 19th and early 20th centuries, driven by figures who risked their freedom to challenge the status quo.
The first hormonal contraceptive pill, later called Enovid, was approved for use in the U.S. in the 1960s. Clinical testing was conducted in Puerto Rico after human trials were done on patients in the Worcester State Psychiatric Hospital.
The Affordable Care Act, passed into law on the 23rd of March 2010, requires all plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace to cover contraceptive methods. This law mandates coverage for barrier methods, hormonal methods, implanted devices, emergency contraceptives, and sterilization procedures.
As of 2012, 57% of women of childbearing age wanted to avoid pregnancy. Despite this desire, about 222 million women were not able to access birth control, with 53 million of whom were in sub-Saharan Africa and 97 million of whom were in Asia.
On the 13th of July 2023, the first US daily oral nonprescription over-the-counter birth control pill was approved for manufacturing by the FDA. The pill, Opill, is expected to be available in 2024 and is expected to be more effective in preventing unintended pregnancies than condoms are.