Birth Control: perhaps the driving force of modern society as we know it, and yet an untold story in so many ways. The Defenders features a tapestry of personal, political, academic, and medical interviews that illuminate this history from the beginning to present day.

Filmmakers Emily Rumsey and Dawnee Dodson joined forces with Deborah Hobbins of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to embark upon the wonderfully enriching journey of telling this history. In September, 2006 the film premiered at the Historic Orpheum Theatre in Madison, WI and the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee, WI. It lives on past its premiere dates as a wonderful teaching and conversation tool for Women's Studies programs, citizen groups, and any other audience interested in the important issue of reproductive rights.

The history of birth control is still being written, and the new chapters seem to be going backwards, not forward. At both the state and federal level, laws that chip away at reproductive health care emerge every day. This film comes at a critical time, when many women are largely unaware of the struggle for birth control and the current threat to their freedom.

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