The drugs war is a total failure. Police don't take drugs but do use contraceptives. Any liberal neighbouring country can supply high quality contraceptives. Using shame to inhibit illegal contraceptives implies people are kept ignorant - sex education would be crippled.

Most people don't take illegal drugs as often as they need contraception.

If "soft" drugs were substituted by binge drinking there would be a plague of violence and deaths - anti-contraceptive authorities would be more motivated.

Strict regulation would detect most contraceptives by stop-and-search, blood testing or medical examination.

Peer pressure and criminal sentencing would inhibit people (in the past shame and limited supply meant that only a few men had access to legal contraceptives).

Abortion tourism can't be undone but contraception tourism can.

Sex Education is crippled because of religio-social taboos irrespective of whether taking birth control pills/medication/drugs is legal or illegal.

But are high-quality pills worth the risk of side-effects(ranging from relatively harmless bloating to fatalities resulting from blood-clotting). If a woman is using the drug illegally she would not go to the hospital in case of a bad reaction. That is the problem.

So it's plausible that safe-enough illegally manufactured contraceptives could be distributed to millions via the same criminal channels. The contraceptives market is bigger (than drugs) and demand is strong so new criminal suppliers would be attracted until demand is satisfied.

This might work for cheap disposable contraceptives like condoms but the legal contraceptive pill can have strong side-effects (illegal versions could be dangerous).

Legal distribution tends to be more reliable.

Certain doctors will covertly/secretly treat these people even if the drug is illegal.

Most countries have "doctor-patient/lawyer-client confidentiality" as a legal rule, making it illegal for a doctor to report the use of a banned or illegal substance be it birth control pills or anything else.

The job of doctors is to treat patients not to squeal on them.

Women/girls who react adversely to certain kinds of birth control pills will not get proper treatment as they won't go to a doctor,for fear of arrest. This is the reason why the number of deaths/fatalities from illegal drug abuse is always higher than when/if the drugs/pills/medicine were legal.

Yes, very few people suffer from side-effects(a lot of the time the test subjects are reacting to something-else so the side-effects written on the bottle may not be caused by the pill itself, however side-effects do practically occur with a minority of users) ; but for those who do, it could be a matter of life and death.

Birth control pills are generally(legal or illegal) not as safe as condoms ; and at times not as effective: No contraceptive is 100% effective as it is. Counter-argument: Shady doctors who distribute BC pills and/or treat patients suffering from side-effects arising from the use of those pills cannot be thought of as reliable/trustworthy.

countries that are conservative enough to ban contraceptive drugs cannot be expected to care for any kind of confidentiality.

Regulation is pointless. It only gives a false sense of security. A high number of Birth-control-pill-related fatalities in the U.S hold testament to this fact.^[1]

A lot of other over-the-counter/FDA-approved drugs have extreme side-effects; the reason side effects are taken lightly is not that they are mild(as the public perceives) but that most people won't have serious side effects(1-9% of people taking the pill).

That does not alter the fact that you're risking your death or the death of your wife/girlfriend/mate just because you aren't comfortable with wearing a condom or diaphragm.

women over 35 who smoke, women with heart disease(it can cause blood clotting) and women with high blood pressure should never take the pill(legal or illegal)^[2]

1. ^ http://womens-sexual-health.suite101.com/article.cfm/death_lawsuits_and_the_pill
2. ^ http://www.oprah.com/health/Birth-Control-Beyond-the-Pill

Before abortions were legal people still used them so yes illegal contraceptives would be avaliable. However they would be potentially dangerous as back street abortions were. Due to them being illegal there would be no regulation to ensure that the contraceptives work; they would not go through the rigorous testing to make sure there are not damaging side effects. Equally there would be no regulation of who sells them so there would be a good chance of contraceptives being replaced with dummy pills that are cheaper to make more of a profit.