Essay on Emergency Contraception

The subject of abortion has created some of the most controversial, social, and moral debates in United States history. On Jan. 22, 1973, in the case Roe Vs. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that it was a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion during the first trimester of the pregnancy (The Ruling). Still other interest groups argue that human life begins at conception and having an abortion is murder to an unborn child. These opposing viewpoints create a delicate political and social debate in which the lives of unborn children are placed in the center. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the RU 486 “abortion pill”, citing that the “overall safety of the pill is excellent”(Food

Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.

Over the last few decades the rates in teen pregnancy have been a debate; did they rise over the past few years or did they actually decline? Contrary to some doctors and politicians the numbers associated with teen pregnancy have decline over the last couple of years. Although there are still people out there who believe this to be an issue it’s made more of an issue than it actually is. The ads and commercials are set out to scare teen-agers into believing that were at an all time high for this issue, but realistically its actually the exact opposite. Teen pregnancy rates haven’t dropped on there over the course of the years. There are a few major factors that have contributed a great deal to this change. Those changes include but are not limited to: more resources being available to these teenagers to prevent themselves from becoming pregnant, society is more open to talking about this issue as well as the religion and culture change aspect of families today. Despite the beliefs of others, teen pregnancy rates are at an all time low for the first time in decades.

Each year in the United States over 45% of pregnancies are unintended, many of these occur in young adults (Manlove, Welti, Wildsmith, & Barry, 2014; Curtis et al., 2016). In addition to the already high percentage of unintended pregnancies, women who have had one unintended pregnancy are at an even greater risk for another pregnancy making contraceptives highly important for these women (Yu & Hu, 2013). Contraceptives for women are important in order to

Plan B One-Step, also known as the morning-after pill, is currently available to all females of any age without a pharmacist’s approval. However, this has not always been the case. It used to be that females could not obtain the contraceptive if they were under the age of 17 and it was only available over-the-counter with valid identification. Many people still believe in those restriction, including the current president of the United States. On December 8, 2011 Barak Obama presented interesting points in an interview on Plan B about the safety for girls regarding the pill. Plan B stops the release of an egg from the ovary. It also may prevent a sperm from fertilizing the egg. If fertilization has already occurred, Plan B prevents the fertilized

In the last decade or so, however, the growing awareness of the dangers of AIDS does appear to have contributed to a decline in the rates of sexual intercourse among teens. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that between 1991 and 2005 the percentage of teenagers who are sexually active dropped from 57.4 percent to 46.3 percent among males and from 50.8 percent to 44.9 percent among females. The rates of pregnancy, abortion, and sexually transmitted disease among teens have actually dropped even faster than the rate of sexual activity. So it appears that, in addition to postponing sex, teens are also becoming more responsible in their sexual activities. For example, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 87.5 percent of teens were either abstinent or used condoms. Of course, that means that 12.5 percent of teens were still having unprotected sex, but that is a significant improvement over past decades. Similarly, although the rate of teen pregnancy has declined, more than 11 percent of the babies born in the United States

First, a mother is less likely to seek prenatal care during an unintended pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy health problems may go untreated, the mother may experience pregnancy related health problems such ectopic pregnancy and other maternal health problems (Reducing unintended, 2005).Second, the mother and family may experience psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. An unintended pregnancy can also prove to be harmful for the infant as well. In the first year, an infant is at high risk for low birth weight, abuse and death (Reducing unintended, 2005). As mentioned, many unintended pregnancies are terminated through abortion without regard to life. It is important for women of childbearing age to be aware of alternatives that will prevent unintended pregnancy. Emergency Contraception (EC) also known as the morning after pill is an alternative method used when birth control methods have failed to prevent unintended pregnancy.There are many people who support the morning after pill and many who are against the emergency contraceptive. According to the blog “A Night for Emergency Contraception”, the morning after pill is a good way to stay safe and have fun. Emergency contraception is now easier to take, one no longer has to take one pill then wait twelve hours to take another. It is now available over the counter in a one step formula. People of religious faith on the other hand are not in favor of this type of contraceptive. It seems they

Unwanted pregnancies can be stopped. The morning-after pill can prevent a pregnancy if taken within 72 hours. It can reduce pregnancy by up to 89%. The pill has a higher dose of levonorgestrel, the hormone found in birth control pills. A survey conducted by Livescience.com showed that 22% of females that are of ages 15-19 that had sexual intercourse have used the pill at least once in their lives. The pill can also give teenś privacy.

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.

Women face with unplanned pregnancies, deciding between whether to end or keep their pregnancy. Many women have abortions if they didn’t want their child, while others have the child and hope to take care of him/her. There is a better step of stopping a pregnancy, by the morning after pill also known as plan. This is a common one two process that teens/women don’t really here about.

Statistics from recent studies suggest that only 13% of U.S. teens have ever had sex by the age of 15. But by the age of 19, seven in ten teens of both sexes have had sex. Between 1995 and 2006-2008, the percentage of teens aged 15-17 who had ever engaged in sexual intercourse declined from 38% to 28%. Among teens aged 18-19, it declined from 68% in 1995 to 60% in 2006-2008. The pregnancy rate among young women has declined steadily from 117 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 1990 to 70 per 1,000 in 2005. However in 2006, the rate increased for the first time in more than a decade, rising to

vary by location but the main services include “Abortion; Birth Control; Emergency Contraception (Morning After Pill); General Health Care; HIV Testing; LGBT Services; Men’s Health Care; Pregnancy Testing & Services; STD Testing Treatment & Vaccines; Women’s Health Care.” Of these services that clinics perform 41% is STI and STD treatment, 34% is contraception, 10% is cancer screening and prevention, 11% is classified as other Women’s Health Care services, 3% is abortion services and 1% is other services (Parenthood, 2015). Some clinics may offer in house abortion while others will only offer referral services depending on location. As they cannot allocate government funds to abortion, the client will usually have to pay the clinic up to 1,500$ for the procedure. Although PP’s main goal is reproductive health and family planning, these clinics are equipped for many other general health care services such as vaccination and blood cholesterol checking. Both paid medical and non-medical employees, as well as volunteers who perform an array of jobs usually staff clinics. For example, clinics that are often berated by groups of protestors will often employ volunteer escorts to assist the patient entering the building to make them feel safer. According to PP (2015), these US clinics service 2.8 million patients in 4.6 million clinical visits each year.

Since their development, contraceptive techniques and their widespread use have caused some controversy between groups with different views on the issue. Contraception is defined as any method that is used to prevent pregnancy and it can come in a few different forms. Barrier methods prevent sperm cells from reaching the ovum so fertilization cannot occur. Other methods that have received more criticism are those that use hormones to prevent implantation of the already fertilized ovum. There is also a post-coital contraceptive pill, more commonly known as the morning after pill or emergency contraception, that can be taken if other methods of birth control have failed or were absent. It works by causing the lining of the uterus to shed,

A question that is asked around when people get pregnant is, “Will you choose abortion, adoption, or parenting?” Those are just three of the options when others get pregnant. However, all of it could have been prevented by using contraceptives. In the article “High Teen Pregnancies Blamed on Contraceptives”, it states that, “Twenty eight percent of couples who want to use family planning don’t have

"Teen pregnancy in the United States: In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years old, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another record for U.S. teens and a drop of 8% from 2014. Although reasons for the declines are not totally clear, evidence suggests these declines are due to more teens abstaining from sexual activity, and more teens who are sexually active using birth control than in previous years. Still, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations, and racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth rates persist (cdc.gov)." As teenagers (in the United States), we are peer pressured or tempted to try new things. Some teens tend to try out drugs, and alcohol. However, some are having unprotected sex in which, is leads to having babies. This is called, teenage pregnancy. This has caused the United States to create records based off of the statistics and facts given from, researchers across the United States. In order to help prevent teenage pregnancy in the United States, teenagers must understand why, having a baby now isn’t such a smart move on their part.