Adapted from All Access EKY’s YouTube video, Witch Doctor

Pregnancy prevention has been around since the very beginning of time. Some of the earliest forms of birth control date back to 1550 BC. Herbal medicine and witchcraft was used in early medieval times, not because people wanted to be witches, but because women wanted control over their own fertility and childbearing.

Some ancient contraceptive methods include:

Soaking wool in a paste of acacia leaves and honey, then inserting into the vagina to block the sperm.
Ingesting a small piece of the herb, silphium, monthly to prevent pregnancy or terminate an existing pregnancy. It became so popular that it was harvested into extinction.
Tying weasel testicles around their thighs was considered a magical pregnancy prevention technique. On the topic of animals in relation to birth control, the first condom was discovered in 1640 and was made from animal intestines.
In ancient China, they would drink a cocktail that consisted of lead, liquid mercury, and arsenic.

As silly as some of these methods may seem to us now, let it not be forgotten all the obstacles these people faced to own the rights to their bodies. Over an estimated 200,000 “witches” were tortured, burned, or hanged. The Council of Lerida condemned both men and women from using birth control potions and magic. 7th century kings offered rewards in return for information about witchcraft so they could punish the people who were seeking and enabling abourtions.

All of us here at All Access EKY are very thankful that we now have healthy, safe, and reliable birth control methods. However, we wouldn't be where we are today in our healthcare if it wasn't for the sacrifices that were made since the beginning of time.