Caitlin Rathke
Mrs. LaChance
Honors English 3
20 December 2017
In our society today, the topic of birth control and other contraceptives for teens is a stirring debate. Teens are more promiscuous and sexually active than ever before; as early as middle school, we are seeing more teenage pregnancies, STD’s, and abortions than ever. Teenagers are not comfortable discussing their sexual activity with their parents and as a result they are seeking out other ways to gain access to birth control and other forms of contraceptives without parental consent. Access to birth control reduces the number of unintended teenage pregnancies and abortions each year, and access to birth control also fuels teenage promiscuity and encourages sex outside of marriage.
Birth control has prevented many unwanted teen pregnancies, “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen births in the United States reached a historic low in 2015, which can be explained in large part by an increased use of contraception among young people” (Gebelhoff, Robert). As of right now, women have to get a prescription to get oral contraceptives from their doctor. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, this movement to make access to these contraceptives is supported by them. Although, teenagers are more likely to use birth control pills compared to using condoms, they are not being influenced by their sexual or emotional pressures. This article also says, the public-health benefits from
these oral contraceptives should by now justify giving women -- particularly young women -- more access to these drugs (Gebelhoff, Robert).
Condoms should be given to middle schoolers because this access does not encourage them to have more sex at a younger age, it makes them more aware. Peaking in the early 1990s, teen pregnancy rates have declined 51 percent and teen births are down 61 percent, said Bill Albert of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancies. Many schools say that their kids participated in surveys to see if they have been sexually active during their middle school years. In the article by Larsen-Fleming, it pointed out that 8.5 percent of Oakland’s Unified seventh-graders
Teen girls between the ages of 15 and 18 should be able to receive birth control and contraceptive without the consent of their parents because most believe that’s a good mature age. Birth control is a crucial factor in preventing pregnancies. Birth control motivates young females to be responsible and have knowledge about their sexual health and also have control on their general health. After interviewing
One solution to preventing teen pregnancy would be to provide better access to birth control for teenagers. In Jacqueline Sedgwick’s article, “American Adolescents and Emergency Contraceptive Pill Access,” she argues that the American teenage pregnancy and abortion rates are higher than any other nation due to the irregular or improper usage of birth control. Many American teenagers are unaware of how to properly use the contraceptives and mistakenly find themselves in difficult situations, but with more knowledge about birth control, teens will be able to properly protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. According to the article, the federal court order the US Food and Drug Administration to make emergency contraceptive pills available to teens over the age of seventeen without a prescription (Sedgwick). Allowing easy access to birth control will enable teens to be prepared and inhibit them from unintended pregnancies that are likely
Teenage sexuality and birth control have long been controversial topics that many find themselves unwilling to discuss. However, ignoring these issues will not make them disappear. The fact of the matter remains that teens are having sex and need confidential access to prescription birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies. With the looming possibility of tremendous socio-economic effect upon society from an increase in teen pregnancies, allowing teens to access birth control without parental consent is
Thesis statement: In order to explain why contraceptives are becoming such a necessity in schools today, I will share how teen parenthood is being glorified, reasons for such an increase in teenage pregnancies, and how effective distributing contraceptives would be.
Teenagers will still be able to choose whether or not they want to protect themselves from pregnancy if their parents are not there for them. In the other hand some individuals think that having birth control available over the counter will cause individuals to have more sex and some women are not responsible enough to take the pill everyday at the same time. Some may argue that providing birth control over the counter can cause woman and teenage girls to have more sex than they were before and sime may question if women are responsible enough, it should be sold over the counter because it will reduce the number of abortions and pregnancies by allowing these women to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies.
Within the pro-choice world there are many issues that are discussed like abortion, the instant where life begins and the use of contraceptives. This article will focus on not only the issue of using of contraceptives, but specifically the distribution of oral contraceptives (“the pill”) to teenage girls without their parent’s consent.
In order to give intelligence, programs should be looked into to inform teenage girls’ on what birth control is and what it can do. Many teens don’t even know about birth control and where to go if they were interested. If to give education before giving access to the birth control it’ll give the advantage to save money, reduce abortions, take away from poverty, and empower young minds. These programs make girls feel as if they “won’t be judged… They’ll be respected.” (Draper, 2014, para. 17). Teenagers should be able to “rely on the program” for many things they seem to be lacking help for. “Majority of Americans favor giving birth control to school-aged teenagers” (Draper, 2014, para. 22) all of the majority of all school-aged teenagers need education on birth
While parents would like their children to wait as long as possible to begin having sex, the reality is that teens are having sex much younger than many parents think. Some teens, or preteens, begin having sex or engaging in sexual behavior in junior high. By the time they are seniors in high school, an estimated 65 percent of teens have had sex, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007. (Dawn, 2009). Unfortunately, a percentage of those teens will become pregnant. After more than a decade and a half of decline (a 27 percent drop from 1991 to 2000), teen birth rates rose again in 2006, which was the last year for which data are available. It is still unclear on what caused teen birth rates to rise again, with supporters of abstinence-only sex education programs and contraception-based programs each blaming the other side for the increase. However, a 2007 study in the Journal of American Public Health attributed the trend in decreasing pregnancy rates to improved contraception use among teens during that time. (Anderson Orr, 2009).
Seven hundred fifty thousand teenagers, ages fifteen to nineteen, become pregnant each year (“Facts”). Teenage birth specialists have often debated whether or not teenagers should have access to birth control and other contraceptives. Although some people think teenagers having birth control will promote promiscuity, birth control should be accessible to teens because they will put themselves at a higher risk for disease and pregnancy without it, and more teenage girls would get a high school diploma with it.
Also, the distribution of condoms and availability of birth control will not cause teens have sex, only will stop from unwanted pregnancy. In addition, informing teenagers about sex, condoms and make birth control available will prevent teens from becoming young and inexperienced parents. Any measure that can be taken to prevent pregnancy and disease among teens should be utilized, and offering birth control in schools is one of the ways to do this. It offers an option to those kids who, for example, may not feel comfortable going to their parents or into a drug store to buy condoms. An amazing solution to this problem is Baltimore’s program. The city has mounted a major public information campaign to educate teens about the choices they have and how to access contraceptives. Health officials are working with the school system, planned parenthood and health clinics to implement an evidence-based sex education curriculum that was standardized across the
“Most people, almost everyone knows of a teenage mom. Teen pregnancy rates are growing, and we need to bring awareness to that.” There are many statistics when it comes to teen pregnancy and teens using birth control. Many people fight that teenagers have to have their parents with them to receive birth control, because it takes away their control over their teenager. Many teenagers find it hard to talk to their parents when it comes to birth control. Teenagers should be able to get birth control without parental consent.
Today, sexually active teenagers can get contraceptives to protect themselves from unplanned pregnancies or sexual diseases without a parent’s permission. In some states federal lawmakers have taken away the ability for teens to protect themselves, they want to prevent sexually active teenagers from getting birth control and condoms unless they get parents permission. Preventing teens from getting contraceptives unless they tell a parent will not stop them from having sex. It will drive them away from the services they need to protect themselves, leading to higher rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases
If at-risk teens are going to make the conscious decision to be sexually active, then there needs to be open an honest conversation about safe sex and pregnancy prevention. All too often conversations about safe sex practices seem taboo and are glossed over or avoided. Health educators need to hit this head on to help mitigate this health behavior. The benefit of contraceptive uses and the impact on teenage pregnancy needs to be addressed. During a five year period starting in 2008, long-acting contraception was given to teenage girls in a
Birth control is defined as the act of preventing pregnancy. It comes in many forms and has been around since ancient times, only, it wasn’t until 1960, when women were given greater control over their body when the first birth control pill was approved by the US Food & Drug Administration to be sold. Even though birth control is a proven method for preventing sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy, some parents struggle with moral and ethical implications surrounding the issue. All may sound well, but there has been controversy over whether or not teens should have access to not just birth control, but more specifically, the contraceptive oral pill. Or do teen-agers have the right to obtain birth control without the knowledge - and possible disapproval - of their parents? Furthermore, with a high birth rate in a rapidly growing population, social problems will lead to social crises and explosion. Birth control not only gives teen girls the right to their own body, but has many benefits regarding pregnancy prevention and their health.
Over the last decade, the percentage of U.S. high school students who report having sexual intercourse has declined (Henshaw, 2003). Promisingly, the percent of U.S. teens surveyed also stated an increase in contraceptive use. Despite these positive trends, the United States still has one of the highest levels of teen pregnancy among developed countries and accounts for more than four million teens contracting sexually transmitted infections each year!