The Pill was revolutionary in its time. It opened the door to women’s sexual liberation and gave women unprecedented control over their fertility. Yet, in the sixty years since the Pill was introduced, there has been remarkably little contraceptive innovation. Mostly, it’s just been new ways of delivering the same cocktail of hormones.
The “choice” we have is how we want our hormones served up to us. A silver plate of daily pills accompanied by a piercing phone alarm reminder. Perhaps an elegant needle injection, served up with a side of calendar appointments to renew every few months. Or for a more minimalist vibe – the patch – our little hormonal sticking plaster. Serving suggestions? Abundant. Ingredients? The same.
Not surprisingly, women are fed up – and want more. We at BPAS (the British Pregnancy Advisory Service) recently commissioned a survey that included 1000 respondents in the U.K. aged 18-45 years. We found that there has been a significant drop in women using oral contraception: While 21% of our survey respondents currently use oral contraception, 44% said they had used it previously. 1 in 7 respondents said they are dissatisfied with their contraception’s side effects. The vast majority have changed their contraceptive method at least once. Clearly, women are trying to find something better – but can’t.
That’s why today we are launching our new report to share these findings, and to call for urgent investment in contraceptive innovation. Our report, entitled ‘Contraception, Re-imagined: The Unfinished Revolution’, highlights women’s disillusionment with current contraception, the unacceptably long waiting times for coil insertions, and the huge appetite for change – for long-acting reversible methods of male contraception (a gel, pill or injection), and for a new form of flexible fertility control for women.
This new form of fertility control - known as contragestives – would involve taking a non-hormonal pill once a week or month, or only after unprotected sex and a missed period – whatever works best for you. 72% of respondents said they would be open to taking that non-hormonal pill, with the most popular option being taking the pill weekly. Only 14% of respondents said the way it operated (i.e. to prevent implantation or to end an early pregnancy) would be one of the most important factors influencing their decision – much more highly ranked were avoiding the negative side effects of other methods of contraception, safety and effectiveness.
What few people know is - that pill exists. And it will revolutionise the future of
contraception.
We at BPAS are not afraid to push boundaries – as we have done since we were
founded on the day the Abortion Act came into force in 1968. We were, and we are, the service that has women’s backs. And now we are pushing boundaries even further. For too long now, women have had to settle. Settle for hormones, repackaged. Settle for often intolerable side effects. Settle for a lack of contraceptive imagination and innovation. And settle for a significantly skewed gendered contraceptive burden. As feminist campaigner Caroline Criado Perez puts it: “young women today are still relying on the same basic science to prevent pregnancy as their mothers. It’s hard to think of another field of medicine that has remained similarly stagnant over this time period.”
But the time for settling is over. As mothers, it’s time for all of us to act to make things better, not only for ourselves, but also for our daughters. We all deserve to have access to the contraception we want, when we need it. We deserve real alternatives to hormonal contraception. We deserve options that share the contraceptive burden with men. And we deserve flexible forms of fertility control that work with our lives.
If you agree, and want to work with us to take the next real steps in the contraceptive revolution, then join our contraception conversation. Let’s talk about what is working, and what is not. About what needs urgent attention and investment, and what needs longer-term exploration and reform. Let’s celebrate the revolutionary change that has empowered women, while acknowledging that the contraceptive revolution is not finished – and that we need to take it forward.
- Sign up to our mailing list so that you can get involved in the campaign for change. We will let you know what you can do with us to bring about the next big leap in the contraceptive revolution. bpas-campaigns.org/signup2023/
- Sign the petition calling on Parliament to invest in contraception innovation and address current barriers to access contraception (such as long wait times). you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/we-urgently-call-for-investment-in-contraceptive-innovation-in-the-u-k
- Follow us on social media (Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and LinkedIn) and join the contraception conversation using the hashtag #contraceptionconversation. www.instagram.com/bpas_1968/ www.facebook.com/bpas1968/ x.com/bpas1968 www.tiktok.com/@bpas1968 www.linkedin.com/company/british-pregnancy-advisory-service-bpas-
- Share your contraception story with us, to help us build up as full a picture as possible of your experiences and hopes for the future. bpas-campaigns.org/tell-us-your-story/