They Call It "Locker Room Talk." We Call It a System Built to Silence Us — and Bury the 28th Amendment.
March 13, 2026
In a post-Dobbs political landscape, information on reproductive health and resources is more crucial than ever. We are seeing attacks on reproductive access from all branches of government. Lawmakers are criminalizing abortion and providers, the Supreme Court ruling that reproductive healthcare, including abortion, is not a fundamental right protected under the Constitution, and women facing prosecution for seeking care. Additionally, the current Administration stated that it plans to destroy over 10 million dollars of contraception meant for low-income countries with little to no access to these services for women.
Yet, there is another attack occurring through social media: the spread of misinformation about the birth control pill. There is an uptick in messaging about birth control being ineffective, unsafe, and poisonous. This rhetoric isn’t just harmless; it lays the groundwork for the same path that got abortion access taken away.
The birth control pill and its forms — IUDs, hormonal implants, and injections — have paved the way for women to have more equal participation in society. Before birth control pills, women’s participation in the workforce was around 33%. After the FDA approved the first birth control pill in 1960, women have had access to controlling their reproductive decisions, opening the possibilities of long-term careers, education, and independence. Birth control accounted for more than 30 percent of the increase in the proportion of women in skilled careers from 1970 to 1990. The facts show that the development of birth control options for women led to opportunities that were never available to women.
The spread of misinformation on birth control is taking a new form through social media and influencers. Extreme agendas are being pushed along by wellness creators who claim that natural fertility methods are healthier for women. This comes with a tactic of fear-based videos relating cancer and infertility to birth control. This is scary and confusing to many women, leading them to make uninformed decisions. We must listen to medical professionals. So let’s break down some of the misinformation circling the internet.
Claim: “The pill causes infertility.”
Fact: False. Birth Control does not cause permanent infertility. Extensive studies have shown that contraceptive use, regardless of its duration and type, does not hurt the ability of women to conceive following termination of use, and it doesn’t significantly delay fertility. Therefore, appropriate counseling is important to ensure that women use the methods to their advantage.
Claim: “The pill causes cancer for everyone.”
Fact: Misleading. The contraceptive pill slightly increases the risk of some cancers, and slightly decreases the risk of others. Users have a modest (about 20% to 30%) increased risk of breast cancer while using hormonal contraceptives and for a short time after stopping. However, the absolute risk for most young women remains very low, and the risk normalizes within 5 years of stopping use.
Birth control significantly reduces the risk of ovarian and Endometrial Cancer. For many people, the benefits of taking the pill are likely to outweigh the risks. Talking with your doctor about the pill's safety and effectiveness for you is essential. This will depend on things such as family history of cancer and other medical conditions.
Claim: “Everyone should stop taking the pill immediately and use natural methods!”:
Fact: False. Talk to your trusted provider and find the right contraceptive choice for you. Katharine White, chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston Medical Center, said this study won’t change how she talks to her patients. When counseling patients about their contraceptive options, “I focus on their past experiences with birth control, their medical history, and what’s important to them about their birth control method and pregnancy planning (if applicable).”
Across the 13 states with abortion bans — and in the face of a national effort to strip women of reproductive healthcare — this misinformation has real consequences: women losing their lives, trapped in cycles of abuse, or stripped of the ability to make decisions about their own futures.
The pill isn't for everyone, and that's okay — what matters is that every woman has the freedom to make that decision with her trusted provider, free from misinformation and political interference. Birth control is a heavily researched and safe medical option, but without legal protection, that access is never guaranteed. The ERA could change that.
States like Pennsylvania are already leading the way — its Commonwealth Court ruled that the state's ban on Medicaid coverage for abortion care is unconstitutional under Pennsylvania's Equal Rights Amendment. But state protections alone are not enough. A federal ERA would establish a national foundation for gender equality, ensuring that no matter what state you live in, your rights cannot be stripped away by a hostile legislature or a shifting political majority. Now that it has met the ratification threshold, it is time to recognize and enforce the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The fight for reproductive rights extends beyond any single medication or procedure. Misinformation about birth control is not happening in a vacuum; it is part of a broader effort to erode the rights and freedoms of those who are not part of the country's privileged class.
Planned Parenthood started their campaign #BirthControlHelpedMe to share women’s stories. Empowerment, freedom, choice, and autonomy are only the beginning of the words used by millions of women when asked how birth control added to their lives. Stories of women who never thought they could finish their degree, make partner at their law firms, or even just have the peace of mind about their sex lives shared how grateful they felt for being given an option.
