■ From the beginning of recorded history, humankind has been concerned about birth control.
■ Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinics in the United States at a time when it was illegal to provide birth control information and devices.
■ Objections to contraception stem from Roman Catholic doctrine and far-right anti-contraception beliefs. However, most church members in the United States approve of and use some kind of artificial contraception.
Sharing Responsibility and Choosing a Birth Control Method
■ A man can share contraceptive responsibility with his female partner by getting informed, asking a new partner about birth control, accompanying his partner to her exam, using condoms and/or coital abstinence if the couple chooses, and sharing the expense of the exam and contraceptive method.
■ Comparison of convenience, safety, cost, and effectiveness may influence the choice of contraception.
■ People who feel guilty, have negative attitudes about sexuality, and do not talk with their partners about contraception are less likely to use contraception effectively than are people who have positive attitudes about sexuality.