Changing Their Views! Everything the Duggar Kids Have Said About Birth Control

Changing views. Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar raised their 19 kids to follow strict rules that include dressing modestly, courting instead of dating and being homeschooled.

One rule that captured the attention of fans during their reign on reality TV is the couple’s views about birth control. During a 2011 interview, Jim Bob explained that Michelle was on the birth control pill when they first got married in 1984 because they wanted to wait a few years to have children.

After welcoming their first child, son Josh Duggar, in 1988, Michelle went back on the pill but became pregnant. After she sadly miscarried, the couple spoke to their doctor and were told “sometimes the pill will allow you to get pregnant, but then it can cause a miscarriage.”

However, there is no research that proves the birth control pill causes miscarriage, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“The Bible says that children are a blessing and a gift from God and a reward from him,” the Duggar patriarch explained about their decision to stop using birth control. “We just really felt like we need to give this area of our life to God.”

Despite raising their kids to follow conservative rules under the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) religion, several of Jim Bob and Michelle’s kids have spoken out about their decisions to break the rules they were raised with.

In September 2020, Jill Duggar and her husband, Derrick Dillard, opened up about their preferred birth control method during a YouTube video.

At the time, they explained that they use”barrier methods” for family planning. Jill added that she prefers non-hormonal options “because we don’t want to use anything that could potentially cause an abortion.”

Using birth control isn’t the only rule that Jill has changed her stance on. Since distancing herself from her parents after she quit Counting On in 2017, the mother of three has gotten a nose ring, consumed alcohol, added jeans into her wardrobe and has modeled modest swimwear for her social media followers.

In October 2020, she admitted that she wasn’t bothered by how her family viewed her decisions to break their rules. “I don’t expect everyone to understand why we’re making the decisions that we are,” she told People. “So it’s alright if they don’t agree with me.”

Keep scrolling to see what the Duggar kids have said about their changing views of using birth control.