Birth Control : Who Controls?

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

A 16-year-old girl visits a birth control clinic and asks to be put on the pill. Since she is a minor, the clinic doctor who writes the prescription for her notifies her parents of the action. As of the year 2016, there are only 26 states that allow minors to obtain contraceptives without parental consent. There are 20 states that allow certain minors to obtain contraceptives without parental consent and those include minors that are married or who have already been pregnant. Four states have no laws on parental consent (Gutimacher Institute, 2016). This ethical controversy leaves room for an open interruption of whether or not minors should need parental consent to gain access to birth control, to apply ethical reasoning to this controversy one must examine the ethical principles of utilitarianism, rights-based, duty-based, justice based, and virtue-based ethics.

Imagine siting in a doctor’s office with your mom and the doctor comes in and ask “are you sexually active”? It’s a question every girl hates and a nightmare, now you’re asked if you want birth control you want to say yes to be safe but your mom says no, this happened to me my mom made the choice for me and I became pregnant. Some parents know that their child is responsible enough to make their own decision, so if teens are making the decision to have sex without consent it should be the same when it comes to protecting themselves. Teens should have access to birth control without a parent consent because they have human rights, they need to be safe from pregnancy and other life changing decisions.

“Every year near 750,000 teenagers get pregnant and more than two-thirds of those teenagers who decide to have their baby will not graduate from High School" (Lu, 391). Our youth is the generation that possesses the power to dictate what the future entails, therefore it is crucial they do not succumb to the negative effects of sexual activity. No matter how arduous educators and parents may try to instill the act of abstinence amongst teens it’s simply not realistic. Most adolescents are likely to engage in sexual relations but instead of trying to prevent these actions, it is extremely vital to be proactive by allowing them access to contraceptives such as Plan B One- Step in the event of an emergency. However, many individuals believe that 15 year olds having access to Plan B is highly unsafe and will corrupt their parental relationships, but it is actually essential teens receive access to emergency contraception in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and exercise their right as women to make unrestricted decisions regarding health.

When I was sixteen years old I asked my dad if he was okay with me going on birth control. Naturally he thought the worst, but that had nothing to do with why I wanted it. The reason that most female teens think about birth control is because of premenstrual syndrome -- a condition which causes migraines, cramps, and mood swings. Many people, like my father, disapprove of teens using birth control for moral and/ or religious reasons. Parents do not want their children to have birth control because they often feel that it is inappropriate and against their beliefs. Teens should be able to have easy access to birth control to assist with premenstrual syndrome, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and gain knowledge about safe sex. Secondly, the cost of birth control is becoming cheaper, so the financial issue is becoming less of a problem and free birth control is helping to drastically lower unwanted teen pregnancies and abortions. In New York State, birth control has become free for everyone, regardless of personal health insurance. On another note, comprehensive sex education regarding birth control, as well as how to use it effectively, can help teens more because if they become sexually active without knowing the risks, or how to effectively use birth control, this creates a greater risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

Today, in every state, teenagers can get contraceptives to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancies even if they can’t talk about sex with their parents. However, some state and federal lawmakers want to take away the teens’ right to do that confidentially. They want to prevent teenagers from getting prescription birth control unless they first tell their parents. Many opponents argue that these proposals would rapidly turn back the clock on public health policy, and put teenagers at risk. After extensively researching the topic, I believe that teenage girls should have the ability to access prescription birth control without parental consent. With results of evidence based research, I hope to persuade you to also believe that requiring

Thesis statement: Although teenage girls are prohibited from purchasing birth control, laws should be implemented to allow access to birth control as a means of managing safer sex, preventing the health risks and guarding them from the cycle of poverty.

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.

Women below the age of 18 should be allowed access to birth control. Women should have access to birth control to avoid unwanted pregnancy; this is especially true for underage women. Almost “half of U.S. pregnancies are unintended” (Rettner). The number of underage and unplanned pregnancies is outrageous. In 2014 in the United States, there were “249,078 babies born to females” between the ages of fifteen to nineteen years of age (Trends). The number of underage pregnancies would be decreased if all females were allowed access to birth control. Utah has an organization that helps women understand and get help with birth control called HER. Their goal is to provide “birth control to 7,000 women” in Utah for free (Hatch). In Colorado “free IUDs” have been provided to women (Hatch). These options should be provided to females all over the United States. If all women had access to Birth control, there would be many fewer underage and unplanned pregnancies. “Selling birth control over the counter” comes with many risks (Rettner). Like all prescription drugs, this drug comes with many side effects. There is also the concern about females who should not or are not allowed to take the drug because of health

While some speakers on the issue argue their side with the perspective of the students and teens in mind others focus on the parents and how their perspectives relate to the issue. Helium.com presently has a poll and debate occurring that allows the public to review multiple arguments from both sides of the debate, and then vote “Yes” or “No” on the issue of teens receiving birth control at school. Jeannie Kerns, a mother of seven children, says that it’s in the best interest of the teen, and their parents, to allow them to have the option to decide for themselves if they require “the pill”. She supports her argument by informing the reader, no matter how strongly parents push for their children to abstain from sex they’ll most likely engage in it anyway. She closes her argument by asking why parents wouldn’t

The issue to be discussed herein is that of young people and access to contraception without parental consent, based around the article Schools, Birth Control, and Parental Consent (Urist, 2015). The term “young people” herein refers to teenagers who have not reached an age of majority.

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.

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

Teens should be allowed to purchase birth control without parental consent because many parents agree that their child is mature to make the decision on their own. The author of “Contrceptive should be available to teens without parental consent claims that birth control is a freedom of fundamental human rights.” If teens are making the decision to have sex without parental consent birth control should be the same when it comes to protecting themselves against pregnancy and other life changing decisions. Furthermore, many teens are not open when it comes to talking to their parents about sex not to mention birth control. Birth control should be attained without parental consent unless the individual decides if her parents should be involved.

Parents should be supportive to the child no matter what the situation can be or how hard it is to understand. The guardians of the minor have the right to know where they go and with whom they spend time with. This does not necessarily mean they can decide when their child should be ready to be sexually active. Regardless, it is going to occur when they feel that the moment is right. Birth control is not only valuable in protecting young teens getting pregnant, but also has its health advantages. To add to that, the child may want to begin taking birth control before they do so, but it becomes a very uncomfortable and awkward topic for a child to discuss with their parents. There are many unsupportive parents that become sensitive to this topic, and may deny birth control to their daughters. In other words, birth control should be available to teenage girls without parental consent.