Protection of Conscience Project
Protection of Conscience Project
www.consciencelaws.org
Service, not Servitude

Service, not Servitude

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Approved Methods of Birth Control

Sean Murphy*

Introduction

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves drugs and devices that are used for birth control, offering a list of different kinds of birth control in a Birth Control Guide.  It refers globally to all of these birth control methods as "contraception" or "contraceptives."

This terminology is highly contentious because it includes surgical sterilization, and because it ignores differences in the mechanisms of action of some products that are considered morally significant by many people.  It has now become legally significant because of a Department of Health and Human Services regulation that will force all insurance plans to provide coverage for anything the Food and Drug Administration has approved as a 'contraceptive.'

The regulation has launched a firestorm of protest across the United States.  It is generating lawsuits against the U.S. federal government, as well as legislation in some states to prevent the regulation from taking effect. 

The following table classifies birth control methods listed in the FDA Birth Control Guide  as "contraceptive", "embryocide" or "abortifacient" according to their reported mechanism of action.  Some drugs or devices may have more than one mechanism of action.

The classification here uses the following definitions:

  • Contraceptive: a drug or device that prevents or may prevent the union of sperm and egg, thus preventing the formation of an embryo.
  • Embryocide: a drug or device that causes or may cause the death of a human embryo before implantation in the uterus.
  • Abortifacient: a drug or device that probably has or is designed or intended to cause the death of a human embryo or foetus after implantation in the uterus.

For more detailed explanation of this terminology, see Clearing Rhetorical Minefields.

Kinds of Birth Control
Listed in the FDA Birth Control Guide
(Accessed 2012-10-15)
Method
Mechanism of action

Sterilization

 
  • Surgery for women

Destruction of part of reproductive organ

  • Implant for women

Permanent impairment of part of reproductive organ1

  • Surgery for men

Destruction of part of reproductive organ

Implantable rod

Contraceptive
Embryocide

Intra Uterine Device (IUD)

 

  • Copper IUD

Contraceptive
Embryocide

  • Hormonal (Progestin) IUD

Contraceptive
Embryocide

Shot/Injection

Contraceptive
Embryocide

Oral contraceptives

 
  • Combined pill
    • Estrogen and progestin

Contraceptive
Embryocide

  • Progestin only (POP, minipill)

Contraceptive
Embryocide

Patch

Contraceptive
Embryocide

Vaginal contraceptive ring

Contraceptive
Embryocide

Male condom

Contraceptive

Diaphragm with spermicide

Contraceptive

Sponge with spermicide

Contraceptive

Cervical cap with spermicide

Contraceptive

Female condom

Contraceptive

Spermicide

Contraceptive

Emergency contraception

 
  • Progestin-only
    • Plan B
    • Plan B One Step
    • Next Choice
Contraceptive
Embryocide
  • Antiprogestin (Progesterone Agonist/Antagonist)
    • Ella
Contraceptive
Embryocide
   
Notes
1.  Hysteroscopic Tubal Sterilization is a procedure that involves the implantation of a tubal occlusion device (TOD) in the fallopian tubes.  This elicits a benign tissue response, causing tissue to grow into the device and block the tube.