The invention of the hormonal birth control pill in the 1960s was billed as a scientific triumph. In one fell swoop, this pharmaceutical innovation would free women to choose their own destinies. They could pursue careers without the “burden” of an unplanned pregnancy, while delaying marriage or even avoiding it altogether. But the promised autonomy has come at a heavy price. The physical, mental and societal problems that have resulted are enormous.
For many women, the Pill has brought serious physical and mental health challenges. Hormonal imbalances, nutrient depletion, heightened cancer risk, and mood disorders are common. For society, the Pill has weakened marriages, increased divorce rates, delayed family formation, and culturally devalued motherhood.
And, at the deepest level, it has subtly redefined sex, relationships, and the sacredness of marital love—leaving a spiritual legacy far more detrimental than anyone anticipated.
The Physical Impact: A Body and Mind in Distress
Far from harmless, the Pill is typically a potent combination of synthetic estrogen and progesterone engineered to suppress ovulation, but at a steep cost. Classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, it’s grouped with deadly cancer-causing agents such as uranium and asbestos.
What’s more, it depletes vital nutrients like folic acid, zinc, and vitamin B and C and has been shown to almost double a woman’s likelihood of developing breast cancer and triple her likelihood of cervical cancer.
The Pill has been linked to an immense increase in blood clots that results in 300-400 women a year dying of strokes and heart attacks. This means that a contracepting woman is more likely to die from birth control than from choking on her food.
But this biological toll is only half of the story. Hormones regulate emotions, which means that manipulating them disrupts more than fertility. Women on hormonal birth control are 130% more likely to experience depression, and a staggering 97% more likely to attempt suicide, especially when they first go on the Pill.
The Pill actually shrinks the brain’s emotion-processing center—shrinking it in size and thus reducing a woman’s capacity for emotional connection and well-being. Even more unsettling, studies show the Pill alters sexual attraction, redirecting women toward genetically similar partners and harming relationship satisfaction. Such shifts contribute to rising divorce rates when former users abandon spouses they once felt drawn to.
The Cultural Cost: A Society Unraveling
The societal fallout is equally profound. Since the Pill’s introduction, marriage rates have dropped, divorce has surged, and the once-steady bedrock of family has weakened. By uncoupling sex from procreation, the Pill normalized casual intimacy—frequent, convenient, and often devoid of responsibility. Relationships, increasingly transactional, are drifting away from mutual respect and lifelong commitment.
Motherhood, once celebrated, is now delayed or forsaken. One in four women may remain childless. Many postpone first births until the final biological window closes, and those who choose early motherhood are often dismissed as “unambitious.”
Men are also suffering from the effects of the Pill. Estrogen from hormonal contraceptives has been found in water supplies, impacting male fertility and contributing to a nation-wide decline in traditional masculinity.
The Moral Consequences: A Soul in Rebellion
Perhaps the most tragic consequences lie unseen, for they reside deep in the soul. Contraception severs the sacred connection between sex and life, reducing marital intimacy—a reflection of the Trinity—to a sterile, utilitarian encounter. Pope Paul VI warned in Humanae Vitae that contraception would pave the way for infidelity, moral decline, and the objectification of women. All of this and more we now see transpiring in society with painful clarity.
Saint John Paul II wrote that couples who use contraception “[act] as ‘arbiters’ of the Divine plan.” They attempt to take the power of creation into their own hands, forgetting that life is not a commodity to be controlled, but a sacred gift to be received. In doing so, they distort the meaning of marriage, degrade human dignity, and turn the soul away from God’s perfect design and providence.
Conclusion: The Threefold Wound- Body, Society, and Soul
The birth control pill was sold as freedom, but it enslaved us instead.
To the body, it brought hormone disruption, cancer risk, nutrient loss, depression, and emotional detachment.
To society, it weakened marriage, devalued motherhood, and elevated self-interest over sacrificial love—tearing at the foundation of the nuclear family.
To the soul, it severed the unity of sex and procreation, reducing love to self-gratification, and eroded the sacredness of marital intimacy.
True freedom is not found in resisting our design, but in living it fully. God’s plan for love, sex, and family is not a burden to escape, but a path to wholeness and holiness.
The Pill may have promised liberation, but delivered disconnection—from our bodies, our communities, and our Creator. As our culture drifts farther and farther away from our true nature, it’s time to return to a vision of human dignity rooted in union with God, neighbor, and self.
For more information and for sources, check out our fact sheets in our Impact of Birth Control Series:
The Physical Impact of the Birth Control Pill
The Societal Impact of the Birth Control Pill
The Moral Impact of the Birth Control Pill
******
