21 Reasons Why Birth Control Is So Important

Birth control is probably most often used to prevent unplanned pregnancies — but it also has numerous other benefits.

For one thing, many of us use hormonal birth control to regulate our menstruation cycles, or to reduce severe menstrual symptoms such as cramps or heavy bleeding. Suffice to say, it's getting hard to argue (try as some might) that birth control isn't necessary for health.

In fact, a new poll released today as part of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy’s Thanks, Birth Control Day, more than 85% of all adults agree that birth control is an essential part of healthcare. What's more, 87% believed that everyone deserves the power to access the full range of birth control methods, no matter who they are or where they live.

"Birth control is a vital part of women’s health care and a vital part of women’s ability to decide their futures," Ginny Ehrlich, CEO of The National Campaign, said in a statement shared with Refinery29. "And it is popular: Virtually all women who have sex with men — 99% in fact — have used birth control at some point in their lives. That is why almost everybody loves birth control."

Thanks, Birth Control (or #ThxBirthControl), an initiative from the National Campaign, is in its fifth year of advocating for more birth control access for people across the nation.

"Birth control provides women — and men — the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant," Ehrlich said in the statement. "And as a result, it allows all young people to live their best lives. That is why we want everyone to say Thanks, Birth Control today. It is a day to celebrate all that birth control makes possible."

In honor of how much we rely on birth control, we've compiled 21 tweets from #ThxBirthControl, all about the many ways birth control has affected people's lives.