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The risks of hormonal birth control are widely known. They are clearly stated in the package insert, and a lot of doctors will discuss them with you and offer a

• giantg2 3y ago
  "They are clearly stated in the package insert" I guarantee they are not all on there. For example, risks of glioma related to progestin, or cervical cancer risks. This type of scenario is the entire basis of the article. Most patients (and many doctors) make the choice without reading the insert anyways. The insert is generally not provided to the patient prior to purchase and most don't care read it anyways due to other concerns. "But indeed, for a lot of women a pregnancy would be far riskier than the side effects of birth control." For a subset, sure. But for the majority of women prescribed (young and generally healthy), that statement may not be true. The majority of contraceptive use is primarily of social desire. Medical necessity is a secondary concern. We can easily see this in the fact that most women are never consulted about the medical risks of either scenario when requesting birthcontrol and an overall consultation on possible options is usually limited and in some cases absent (although it has been improving as more options become more mainstream).