Thread by @yffei

Parent: Is it true birth control pills are made to have monthly periods just to appease the church?
Me (having just read Malcolm Gladwell's book about this): It seems so, yes. There's no reason your child needs to have periods.
Parent: 😡 Why didn't anyone tell me that sooner! 🧵

John Rock, a devout Catholic, was one of the inventors of the Pill, which was FDA-approved in 1960. The Catholic church bans any methods other than the rhythm method as 'mortal sin,' so the only acceptable way to avoid pregnancy is to not have sex during the fertile window.

Most hormonal birth control works by maintaining a thin uterine lining and preventing the cyclic changes of the hormones that trigger ovulation.

He argued that the Pill was just as natural as the rhythm method since it just extends the length of time that the body is not ovulating (aka the safe window), similar to during or after pregnancy. Also it maintained the 'natural' monthly cycles, so what was the problem?

The Catholic church didn't buy it, but the monthly periods remained. Some sources also say that the placebo weeks had other purposes, such as for reassurance that a person wasn't pregnant and to allow for a break from side effects of the previous higher dose pills.

But we know now that there's no reason to have a period every month while on contraception, especially for people with heavy periods, painful periods, premenstrual symptoms, or just don't want to have periods for any reason.
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