Real Women of Gaming

I have been struggling to write this article for months now. Not because there isn’t much information, but because there is so much. Originally I wanted to focus on the excitement of the new over the counter (OTC) birth control (BC) pill, Opill, and those involved. Unfortunately, when I reached out to ask questions after months of back and forth I received an email stating, “At this time, we unfortunately do not have anyone available to provide commentary on your questions due to scheduling conflicts.” Naturally this frustrated me because I wanted to showcase those folks that have worked hard to make this happen. I wanted to know how they plan to continue the fight to keep it on the shelves as there is a real possibility that the next federal administration could undo all their hard work. It is unfortunate I could not get any answers. Due to these delays, I was forced to change my approach on the topic but, in hindsight, I think it was for the best.

We are in a historic year for the USA for many reasons. There is a possibility we could elect our first female president, but we could also elect our first dictator. I think it’s important to talk about the historic importance of the election in tandem with the announcement of the new OTC birth control, because this win is that is precarious. Reproductive rights should not be as mercurial as they are, but that is the reality we live in. I figured the best approach is to look at the full history of birth control. I think that by looking back at our past we can better understand our present and assess where to go in the future.

First, let’s take a look at some of the earliest known writings of reproductive health. Up first is the Bible. Yes, I said the Bible. Keep in mind this is Western history and it is rooted around the Mediterranean sea so that is the lens we are viewing this through. In the Bible in Genesis 38: 9 -10 it states, “But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.” Spilling seed on the ground is and analogy for the pull out method. It’s not contraceptive in the modern way we think about it but it does show that humans have been trying to control reproductive choices for a long time. Why? Because humans want control over what happens in our own lives. This particular biblical text is about a man who was forced to marry his sister-in-law, impregnate her, and raise the children as his nieces and nephews. At least in modern, Christian interpretations, this is a man who wanted control over his own body, and is put to death because he was going against the law of the land. Just because it was the law does that make it right? Well, we’re not here to discuss theology in depth otherwise we’d be here forever. Genesis is thought to have been penned around the 5^th century BCE, and as much as we like a biblical reference we have to keep in mind the stories took place long before they were written. There is an even older document than the Bible that was actually written during that era is called the “Kahun Gynaecological Papryus”. These documents are some of the oldest known medical texts dating around 1825 BCE, they include instructions on practices for contraceptive and abortion methods. In Ancient Greece, circa 350 BCE, Aristotle talks about using spermicides made of various natural chemicals like cedar oil, lead ointment, and Frankincense. While the effectiveness of these methods are scientifically questionable, the point is that humans have wanted to control their fertility journey for more than a couple of millennia.

For thousands of years people have tried spermicides w/natural ingredients (Greece & Egypt), pulling out (Bible), trying fruit like lemons as cervical caps (Renaissance) and even just straight up abstaining to keep from getting pregnant. It wasn’t until the industrial age that science really moved forward in women’s health: the discovery of the ovum. Before this discovery all humans understood about conception was that semen had to enter a female body to reproduce. This new understanding really pushed forward healthcare for women. From the discovery of the ovum (eggs) it took 11years to learn that conception requires both sperm and egg to work. Before these discoveries, it was thought that creation of life was a male only process and women were simply housing units. During those 11 years of discovery, there were also new inventions in the BC department: 1832 Dr. Charles Knowlton invented a method that used a syringe to be administered after sex that was popular for 40 yrs; 1838 Dr. Friedrich Wilde invented the precursor to the diaphragm called the “Wilde Cap”; and in 1839 the invention of rubber by Charles Goodyear made manufacturing condoms, diaphragms and other devices much easier.

Unfortunately, in 1873, Congress passed the “Comstock Law”, an anti-obscentity act that specifically lists “contraceptives as obscene material and outlaws the dissemination of them via the postal service or interstate commerce.” (PBS) If this sounds familiar it is the very same law that the Republican party continues to invoke to push the current anti-abortion legislation. This law is still active today. Since the broad scope of the Comstock Law was enacted our government has put in place more narrowed and focused laws such as 18 U.S.C. § 1470 – “prohibits any individual from knowingly transferring or attempting to transfer obscene matter using the U.S. mail or any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce to a minor under 16 years of age. Convicted offenders face fines and imprisonment for up to 10 years.” This law is clearly targeting child pornography but with these new laws available, why do we still have the Comstock Law? To me it seems the only reason to keep such broad outdated laws is so that people in power, regardless of political party, always have a way of controlling women. At the time of its passage the US was the only western nation to create laws criminalizing BC. I find it interesting that this law came out shortly after BC became widely accessible. In my opinion this law was written solely to control women and its time we removed it from the books.

As we continue our historical sojourn we make major strides in science and medicine, including: improving established birth control methods like the cervical cap/diaphragm (1889), most notably discovering hormones (1890); and establishing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 1906). With these innovations we come into the 20^th century where women begin fighting back for our own rights. Two names you need to know are Margaret Sanger and Katharine McCormick. These women are responsible for what we now know as “The Pill”. McCormick is the first woman to graduate from the Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology (MIT) and Sanger is the dreamer behind the pill, responsible for the term Birth Control in a journal that she published called The Woman Rebel, and opened the first birth control clinic which eventually became what we now know as Planned Parenthood. Because of her radical ideas, she was indicted on criminal charges for “obscene acts” in violation of the Comstock Law. The charges were eventually dropped and Sanger opened up her first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, NY, the first of its kind for women in US history (1916). The clinic was quickly shutdown but it didn’t stop Sanger. Eventually meeting Katharine McCormick at one of her own lectures in Boston, Sanger and McCormick became lifelong friends. McCormick soon became a financial enabler and smuggler for Sanger’s work. One thing to note, Sanger did believe in eugenics, “an inherently racist and ableist ideology that labeled certain people unfit to have children.” This is not something that I nor the current iteration of Planned Parenthood believe, but it is important to be aware of because I do not want her racist ideology to overshadow the importance of women having control over their own bodies.

Taking place around these women at the same time is the suffragette movement; the right to vote for white women. Two years before the 19^th Amendment is ratified we get a decision on the case against Sanger’s BC clinic known as The Crane Decision (1918); legally expanding and allowing the use of BC for married couples. A small step but a step forward nonetheless to current day when we have the first over the counter BC pill, Opill. Consequentially, it has taken the US over a hundred years to get easy access to birth control. It’s not hyperbole to say this will be taken away in the next administration, if former President and 34-time convicted felon Donald J. Trump wins. It is expressed in depth in section 3 of Project 2025, the fascist manifesto the Republican party has utilized since Ronald Reagan’s administration under various titles. You can find a detailed breakdown of this section in episode 64: Monroe Doctrine of my podcast Learning the Law.

There is so much more history that has happened between Sanger’s dream of a pill and Opill including the invention of the pregnancy test because of the discovery of the pituitary gland (1926); the gland that produces the hormones for reproductive growth. With this discovery we’re able to isolate hormones and study them learning more about the menstrual cycle than we’ve ever known. During all of these discoveries the government continued its attacks on birth control inventions because they feared the emboldening result this would have giving women control over their own bodies.

It wasn’t until 1956 that we actually get The Pill. Due to the hard work of Sanger, McCormic, and many other physicians, nurses, and scientists, Enovid is submitted to the FDA for approval. The FDA approves it for use in treatment of severe menstrual disorders in the summer fo 1957. Two years later, Enovid on a different dosage is submitted to the FDA for approval for use as a contraceptive. The winter of 1960 this dosage is approved for long term use and Enovid becomes the first oral contraceptive available. From then on the Pill has become the most common form contraceptive for people of menstruating age. However, it hasn’t all been sunshine and roses. On top of the few states hanging on to the past with the Comstock Law, Connecticut and Massachusetts were still refusing to share educational materials about BC, we begin to see the emergence of side effects. This is not uncommon because drug trials are limited: there will inevitably be more information with more users since drug trials only use a percentage of the population to test. In ‘65 we have a monumental case that makes it easier for women to get BC called Griswold V Connecticut. This case established the base for right to privacy laws as well as the case that the Republican party and now stacked supreme court are working towards overturning. Many of our current day laws hinge on this case and with the overturning of Roe v Wade. It is in danger because Roe v Wade established the right to an abortion and further solidified the right to privacy established in Griswold V Connecticut.

During the late 1960s we get conclusions on side effects of the Pill and due to senate hearings and feminist protesters we now have side effects listed publicly for patients. By the 1980s we have 10.7 million users of the Pill. Because of this women are entering the workplace by force and an estimated 60% of women of reproductive age are employed. We hit an estimated 50-80 million women worldwide using the pill in 1984. This brings us into current day and the new OTC birth control pill, Opill. Due to the hard work and efforts of groups like Ibis Reproductive Health we now have FDA approval and more access to contraceptives, giving people of reproductive age more control over our own bodies. Opill is an estrogen free oral contraceptive: it uses progesterone, and will cost around $50 for a three month supply or $20 for a one month supply. Both options are available on the website, as well as select pharmacies like CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens. They even have a cost assistance program on the website for anyone to apply. This pill is safe for breastfeeding mothers but not for breast cancer survivors and, as always, check with your doctor for effectiveness or interactions with any medications you are already taking. This is such an exciting time for reproductive health, but it is being overcast by the fascist ideology that has seeped into our government and is trying to take hold.

In Project 2025 there is a section devoted to the Department of Health and Human Services. Within this rather garrulous document the project’s architects state their desires to take away access to not only abortion but also contraceptives, by using the Comstock Law. The challenges taking place right now in various states against the abortion drug Mifepristone are the same moves made in the 60s by the white nationalist movement to create a larger conservative hold on congress. The most recent SCOTUS ruling on the drug was in favor of its use, but more challenges keep popping up every month. These attacks on reproductive health are for one purpose: control. Early voting has started, and we have less than a month for the election. I can’t overstate how much a vote for Trump is a vote for loss of control over our own bodies; not just reproductive rights, but everything. Everyone’s right to privacy is on the line, as we’ve established earlier in this article, but we have time now to make sure that doesn’t happen. Make sure you are voting for representatives that support reproductive rights. Did you know that EVERY seat in the House of Representatives and 1/3rd of the Senate are up for re-election this year, not just the President of the United States?

I know it feels overwhelming right now, and its by design. But you can cut through all that noise and make your own informed decisions by doing your research. Your vote is private and it is yours and yours alone. You don’t have to tell anyone who or how you vote. Your vote is your voice and it matters. Vote.org is a free wonderful resource that will help you learn all about your local elections. You have a right to be heard so use your voice and vote today to make sure that we keep and continue pushing for reproductive rights and easy access to birth control like Opill.