Jill Duggar Reveals A Surprising Fact About Her Love Life
Members of the Duggar family have repeatedly stated that they plan on having as many children as God will give them. But at least one member of the reality TV family isn't leaving everything up to chance — as it turns out, Jill Dillard, née Duggar, uses birth control, and she's not afraid to broach the touchy topic with her fans. Considering Jill is the first Duggar daughter to state she uses birth control, her admission is a pretty big deal.
The surprising reveal came on Sept. 30, 2020, when Jill and her husband, Derick Dillard, shared a Q&A on YouTube where they talked about their views on contraception and other interesting topics. On the topic of contraceptives, they revealed they use non-hormonal birth control, an admission that left some fans reeling. "The character development is THROUGH THE ROOF," one person tweeted about Jill's recent changes, which include a nose ring, going to therapy, and choosing to put her son in public school.
19 Kids and Counting fans likely assumed that none of the married Duggars used any sort of birth control method, with their apparent belief that couples are gifted as many children as God allows. But the Dillards are doing things differently, and they're not afraid to share their experience. Here's what to know about Jill Duggar Dillard's views on birth control, along with where her video didn't get the facts right.
Inside Jill Duggar's decision to use birth control
Jill Dillard, née Duggar, and Derick Dillard have two children: Israel David, born in 2015, and Samuel Scott, who arrived in 2017. But they aren't looking to expand their brood just yet, which is where birth control comes in.
"We're also, like, more natural-minded and sometimes there can be more longer lasting effects from hormonal birth controls and stuff like that so we just steer clear of those," Jill said in a YouTube video posted on Sept. 30, 2020. "Eventually we want to have more kids and stuff — lord willing — so we don't want to, like, mess too much with all that and potentially cause problems."
Derrick also said in the video that he and his wife will "probably stop using birth control" when they're ready to try for more children in the future. It isn't the first time the couple has strayed from the Duggar family's views, either — Jill recently confirmed that she drinks alcohol, too.
Jill Duggar's inaccurate claim about birth control
Contraceptives aren't abortifacients, despite Jill Dillard, née Duggar, claiming otherwise. "We use birth control, but we prefer to use non-hormonal birth control methods, just because we don't want to use anything that could potentially cause an abortion," Jill said in a YouTube video posted on Sept. 30, 2020. "I think there are probably uses for hormonal methods of birth control for, like, regulating things and stuff like that. But for us, we just want to be careful about that."
It's probably obvious, but the phrase "regulating things and stuff like that," isn't how many would describe a form of contraception that approximately 12.6% of women aged 15-49 use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Jill may not have a background in science, but sharing these statements with her followers without providing more information is misleading. The hormonal pill can't "potentially cause an abortion," as it's meant to help prevent ovulation, as Dr. Krishna Upadhya explained to HuffPost. And emergency contraceptives, like Plan B, aren't the same thing as mifepristone (the abortion pill), as Healthline noted.
Of course, Jill's video is a casual one and encompasses more topics than her use of birth control, but it's still important that fans know her statement isn't a scientific one.
Jim Bob Duggar made a similar remark about birth control
It's possible patriarch Jim Bob Duggar influenced Jill Duggar's views about birth control, as he once made a similar claim about the topic. Talking about his early marriage with Michelle Duggar, Jim Bob wrote in a July 2016 blog post, "Believe it or not, when we first got married we decided we did not want to have children right away, so Michelle began taking birth control pills. Three years into our marriage Michelle went off the pill and we had our first child. Then she went back on the pill, because we heard it was better to space your children out, but Michelle got pregnant while she was on the pill, and the pill caused her to miscarry." He added, "We talked to a Christian doctor and he explained that the pill could be abortive."
Of course, this is a myth that has been disproven. But it's not the first time the Duggars have relayed controversial info — back in 2014, for instance, Michelle shared a friend's marriage advice, which she lives by too. Michelle recalled the advice to TODAY, stating, "'Be available. Anyone can fix him lunch, but only one person can meet that physical need of love that he has, and you always need to be available when he calls.'"
Considering Jill was raised in a household with these beliefs, the claims shared in her video aren't too surprising. But given how much she has transformed in recent years, she could change her opinion one day — TBD.