Looking into some of the groups that were supportive of the pharmacistsâ€™ movement, though, I came across a surprisingly well-organized coalition of evangelical anti-contraception groups, some of whom were arguing that Christians should leave their family size and spacing in the hands of God.

I had been unaware of anti-abortion claims that birth control functions as abortion, and hadnâ€™t known that opposition to contraception had become an important issue among Protestants and evangelicals in addition to traditional opponents among Catholic and LDS churches. I first came across the Quiverfull movement while researching the anti-contraception movement among pro-life pharmacists claiming â€œconscientious objectionsâ€ to dispensing birth control. What experiences in your journalism career prompted a deeper exploration of the Quiverfull patriarchal movement? Joyce recently spoke to Girl with Pen about her research experiences, intersectional conflicts within the Quiverfull movement, and the publicâ€™s response to her groundbreaking new work: A graduate of both Hampshire College and New York University, her freelance writing has appeared in Newsweek, The Nation, Mother Jones, and many other publications.

Kathryn Joyce is a journalist and author of the new release Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement (Beacon Press).

Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce