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Contraceptives and the Teenage User Essay

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Contraceptives and the Teenage User

For years now a debate has been ongoing concerning teenagers and contraceptives. Some argue that giving contraceptives or even allowing teenagers to purchase them only encourages premarital sex. This attitude, however, denies the simple fact that premarital sex in adolescents has been common throughout the ages. It occurred before effective contraceptives were available, it occurs now despite the well publicized existence of untreatable and deadly diseases like AIDS, and it will continue regardless of public policies restricting access to contraceptives. I believe that to deny teenagers access to every available means of protecting themselves against unwanted pregnancy and disease can only …show more content…

Marion Howard, author of Preventing Teenage Pregnancy, reflects this best, “Adults who wonder why adolescents do not use contraceptives often cannot conceptualize the world as it is experienced by adolescents. There is no advertising of contraceptives on television, even for adults. There is no role modeling of contraceptive use by adults in movies and television as part of daily lives.”

Teenagers will continue to explore their bodies and their newfound interest in sex; they will continue to lead to premarital sex regardless of contraceptive access. Morality and religious objections are certainly proper and correct. Abstinence is admirable and to be praised. However, that does not in any way justify forcing those who will choose not to be celibate into risking their lives or unwanted pregnancy.

Another argument often given by those who would deny access to contraceptives to teenagers is the ineffectiveness of the various forms of contraception. These arguments generally end with the proposal that abstinence is the best form of contraceptive. This is undoubtedly true. However, it assumes that abstinence can be expected of all teenagers, which in reality it is a difficult goal for them to accomplish. For those teenagers who will not achieve this goal, the use of contraceptives is preferable to nothing.

Finally, the

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