Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

Birth Control, edited by Beth Rosenthal. 221 pp. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. ISBN 13: 978-0-7377-4194-0. ISBN 10:0-7377-4194-5. $37.40.

This volume from the Opposing Viewpoints series explores the controversies that surround birth control and the resulting divisions in American society. The introduction describes the many dilemmas concerning contraception that have followed the FDA’s 1960 approval of the birth control pill—the debate over monthly menstruation and its accompanying risks and benefits; the issue of convenience; the possibility that certain contraceptives may lower the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancers while perhaps increasing the chance for strokes, heart attacks and blood clots; the physical and mental effects of menstrual suppression; as well as the accompanying ethical concerns regarding contraception. Each of the four chapters that follow begins with a preface that provides background material to a specific aspect of birth control, while the viewpoint essays all offer succinct introductions and pre-reading questions that help focus the controversies raised in each piece. Chapter one tackles the issue of abortion, the right to privacy and what that entails; the diverse viewpoints within the chapter examine the effects of birth control and emergency contraception on society. The second chapter examines the role of the government in deciding whether a woman should be permitted access to birth control, especially when that person’s needs clash with another’s personal beliefs. In chapter three, commentators offer their opinions on the virtues and problems of teaching sex education and whether teens should be able to obtain birth control, while the final chapter presents a variety of viewpoints that examine the role that birth control plays in the health of teens. Each chapter concludes with a bibliography of supplemental articles which may expedite explorations. The “For Further Discussion” section that follows chapter four presents opportunity for further inquiry about the issue. The volume concludes with a list of relevant organizations, a print and online bibliography and a general index. Recommended for high school libraries.