Birth control advertising is on the rise, and it has a complicated history

Plan B One-Step, the emergency contraception method commonly referred to as the morning-after pill, has two ads currently running on national television. In one of the ads, a woman speaks directly to the camera, saying: “Plan B helps prevent pregnancy before it starts, and it won’t impact your ability to get pregnant in the future” — simultaneously dispelling misinformation about the birth control method and giving simple, direct information to those who may need it.

These ads have been airing during college sports games and primetime series and are part of a nationwide uptick in birth control advertising — a reaction, it seems, to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June.

According to Digiday, since the overturning of Roe, many contraceptive brands have doubled their advertising budgets. Physicians and other prescribers are seeing an increase in demand for contraceptives as well.

“There are a lot of reasons for this rise including the increased number of contraceptive options — in 1965, there was only one FDA-approved contraception called Enovid, and today there are over 20 different varieties,” Jessica Furgerson, whose book The Battle for Birth Control traces the history of the birth control movement, tells Yahoo Life. “The topic of sex/contraception has generally become less taboo over time, and of course the Dobbs decision has made the need for contraception, especially long-acting contraceptive implants and emergency contraception, much more pressing.”

As abortion options become further restricted, birth control and the advertising for it grows in significance. Though methods of birth control have been employed throughout human history, birth control advertising in the U.S. historically has been as controversial as the product itself. “The very first advertisements for contraceptives actually appeared in newspapers but used code words like ‘French’ or ‘Portuguese’ to describe the pessary devices sold on the black market to avoid being censored under the Comstock Act,” says Furgerson.

The Comstock Act, which passed in 1873, prohibited any type of birth control or abortion. For decades, that remained the norm, even as organizations such as the American Birth Control League, now known as Planned Parenthood, were formed.

“Because it was still illegal in most parts of the country to prescribe birth control for contraceptive purposes, we do not see advertising for it become mainstream until the late 1960s, early 1970s after the Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965,” Furgerson adds, referencing the mid-20th-century court decision that overturned the criminalization of the use of birth control. Birth control for unmarried women wouldn’t be legalized until 1972.

As for advertising, the first national birth control advertisement hit print in 1971, and the first televised nationwide birth control campaign aired a year later. For the next 20 years, controversy swirled around advertisements for birth control. As the New York Times questioned in 1987, “Is the use of television to promote birth control in the public interest, or does it intrude upon religious and moral values?”

By the turn of the 20th century, however, opinions had changed. In 1999, a Los Angeles Times story noted the proliferation of birth control advertisements during primetime shows, as well as the public’s reaction to them. “Viewers are receptive to the messages, in sharp contrast to the protests that accompanied late-night condom ads a decade ago,” the article reads.

These days, some of the most important work of birth control advertising is to dispel misinformation — which is being seen more and more on social media — and give accurate information to those who may need or want it. “Given the misinformation that exists, it is especially important that women are educated about Plan B and continue to be assured that Plan B remains available at all major retailers in all 50 states without an age restriction, Rx or ID needed,” Foundation Consumer Healthcare, the makers of Plan B, shared in a statement to Yahoo Life.

Earlier this year, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that one in four women of reproductive age don’t know emergency contraception is available over the counter, or have never heard of emergency contraception at all, according to Julia Bennett, senior director of digital education and learning strategy at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “And of those who have heard of emergency contraception, three in 10 don’t know how to get it,” Bennett tells Yahoo Life. “Leveraging various types of media and communications to raise awareness of sexual and reproductive health topics is critical to making sure all people have access to the care and information they need.”

As anti-abortion groups are reportedly turning their efforts toward hormonal birth control — with Plan B high on the targeted list — the importance of getting accurate information to people is heightened, say experts.

Adds Furgerson: “It's important for people to know that they have options.”

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