Birth control is ubiquitous in society today. It is so commonplace that we just refer to it as “the pill.” But have you ever wondered how that pill came to be? Like many medical advances, its history is much darker than you may imagine. The history of modern day birth control centers around the horribly unethical mistreatment of Latine people with a uterus in Puerto Rico. They don’t teach you this stuff in high school history.
Run Time: 36 minutes, 48 seconds
RESOURCES:
- 35% of Puerto Rican Women Sterilized
- The First Birth Control Pill Used Puerto Rican Women as Guinea Pigs
- A Brief History of Birth Control in the U.S.
- The Dark History of Force Sterilization in Latina Women
- Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology
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