Amanda's Story

Amanda wrote in with a compelling story of how the pill literally saved her life. Her contact info is included here with permission.

I began having irregular menstrual bleeding when I was sixteen. Within the course of a year, it worsened to the point that I was bleeding constantly, quite literally all the time.

I became so anemic that my life was in danger. My blood cell count plummeted, and the cells I did have were very small. When I was finally tested, my red blood cell count was only two above the number needed to send me to the hospital for a transfusion.

Let me tell you what it is like to have life-threatening anemia.

You are always cold. Even on a warm day, you will chill easily. If it is cold, you are in a special hell, indeed, as your body withdraws what little blood you have from your extremities, leaving them icy cold and painful.

You cannot catch your breath. Because blood cells carry oxygen, you always feel tired and out of breath even when you haven't been physically exerting yourself. Physical exertion becomes impossible, as there is not enough oxygen in your blood to support sustained motion. Attempting to push through it leads to fainting. Even standing for long periods of time would cause me to become dizzy and nauseated.

You are tired, all the time. I slept ten hours a night or more, and would still fall asleep in class four or five times during the day. I would nap for three hours when I came home, and again for an hour after dinner. I slept probably fifteen or sixteen hours a day. I was still exhausted all the time, unrelentingly. I would fall asleep and wake up chilled and shivering. I slept so deeply that I didn't even dream.

You become weak. There is not enough oxygen in your muscles, and it saps your strength. I could not carry my backpack from class to class without becoming exhauasted.

You are always craving food rich in iron. I started craving red meat and bone marrow. This was a little disturbing. Yet, perversely, my appetite was terrible because I felt sick to my stomach all the time.

I missed a lot of school, two to three days a week, and was so sick that my doctors recommended I be allowed to finish out my senior year on half-days, to avoid exhausting me.

I was put on a high-dose birth control pill to stop the bleeding. Within three days it had stopped, and within two weeks I was recovering, though it took a long time for me to become fully-functional again. I was still booted out of the private school I had attended, and forced to attend public school.

No cause could be found for the bleeding. I had test after test, but the tests revealed nothing. I simply had to remain on the Pill. This was frustrating for me because my insurance at the time would not cover it, even though it was not for contraceptive purposes. The brand I was on was expensive -- forty dollars a pack -- and I was very poor. Paying for them was very hard. Planned Parenthood helped, and I was able to get them at a greatly reduced cost, but it was still prohibitive.

I stopped taking it several times, but each time the bleeding returned. I remained on it until I was twenty-five, and the bleeding finally didn't come back.

Later, I found out that I have a condition called Asherman's Syndrome, and my uterine scarring is so bad that if I were to become pregnant, the risk to my health would be significant. Again, it was a good thing I never got pregnant.

The Pill quite literally saved my life.

It saved me on a metaphorical level as well. I got married, and we didn't want (nor were we able to support) children, but I am one of those unlucky women who cannot use latex condoms. I was extremely poor, polyurethane condoms had not yet been put on the market, and there was no other avenue of reliable birth control open to me due to my youth. The Pill was all that saved me from bearing an unwanted child into abject poverty. If I had become a mother at that time (even if I could have carried to term, which is doubtful), it would have been disastrous.

-- Amanda Gannon
naamah@gmail.com

So in review, here's what the pill afforded Amanda: not just calmer hormonal cycles, not just birth control to prevent what is likely to be a life-threatening pregnancy, but a reliable, if somewhat dear (no thank you to her insurer), treatment for life-threatening anemia.

I guess those are all just minor benefits according to the American Life League.

Lori B's Story

Lori B tells us another story of how The Pill allows her to function normally.

I was incensed when I saw the American Life League's site and the blatant lies they intend to spread. Not only is their information just blatantly WRONG about how the pill works, they also ignore the fact the pill is used for a vast variety of gynecological issues.

My own story is I have a tubal ligation, but I'm still on the pill. This is necessary to me because I suffer from chronic long periods, even after an endometrial ablation six years ago. My ovaries are healthy and so is my uterus, but my periods can last for up to a month without the pill. My periods will come back to back with only a couple days of respite. The only option after this is a hysterectomy, and I really do not want to suffer through horrendously painful and invasive major surgery to remove an otherwise healthy organ. My last and only option is the pill. I've suffered from irregular and heavy periods since I first got them at 15 years old and it's been a nightmare. Without the pill, I could not hope to have a normal sex life or feel comfortable in my own skin day to day because my body cannot regulate it's own hormones and nobody knows why. I could not have had the family and life I do now. The pill is NOT just for birth control! The pill is a desperately needed and necessary medication simply for quality of life. I am far from the only woman who suffers from problems like this, and I know many who suffer much worse.

That's my story. You may call me Lori B. for your website.

Now, there's an interesting twist to this story. Lori's choice is between the pill, a hysterectomy, or hormones that are essentially out of control. Or, given the American Life League's self-proclaimed philosophical foundations, no choice but hormones that are out of control.

The American Life League's Answer to Mary

I once wondered what American Life League would say to women like Mary? Fortunately, we don't need to wonder:

Q: Is it OK to take the pill for my acne or other health reasons?
A: Although the pill may have some minor benefits, the fact that it can kill preborn babies and cause harmful side effects for the woman outweighs its minor benefits.

Apparently preventing extremely painful and debilitating periods is a "minor benefit."