A Brief History of Birth Control

1550 B.C.An Egyptian manuscript called the Ebers Papyrus directs women on how to mix dates, acacia and honey into a paste, smear it over wool and use it as a pessary to prevent conception 1700sCasanova’s memoirs detail his experiments in birth control, from sheep-bladder condoms to the use of half a lemon as a makeshift cervical cap 1839Charles Goodyear invents the technology to vulcanize rubber and puts it to use manufacturing rubber condoms, intrauterine devices, douching syringes and “womb veils” 1873Congress passes an antiobscenity law that deems birth control info obscene and outlaws its dissemination. At the time, the U.S.

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