Teen Pregnancy In High School Teens

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

"Approximately four million teens get a sexually transmitted disease every year" (Scripps 1). Today’s numbers of sexually active teens differ greatly from that of just a few years ago. Which in return, projects that not only the risk of being infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) has risen, but the actual numbers of those infected rise each year as well. These changes have not gone unnoticed. In fact have produced adaptations as to how society educates its young adults about sex, using special programs, various advertising, and regulating sexual education courses in public schools. One major adaptation is the advancement and availability of

For many years teen pregnancy has been a national social problem. Views have changed over the years as society has started to adapt to the thought of teen pregnancy. “Growing evidence suggests that pre-existing academic and economic hardships play a role in the continuing struggles of teen mothers. While 85% of young women who delay having their first child until at least twenty or twenty – one obtain a high school diploma or GED, only 63% of mothers who give birth by age seventeen do so” (Crosson- Tower p255)

We have all heard the stories about the rise in teenage pregnancies, girls dropping out of school to care for their newborns, and even those who get pregnant on purpose. This new trend is everywhere. Most parents fail to have the “talk” with their children and are left without the proper education regarding sex until its too late. With the current rates of teenage pregnancy correlated with the current rates of spreading epidemics of STD’s and HIV/AIDS, steps should be taken in an effort to aid the situation. Schools are a main source of information and education for teens, and are in a unique position that can provide adolescents with knowledgeable skills and understanding that promote sexual health. With consistent speculation surrounding

“A 2011 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey indicates that more than 47 percent of all high school students say they have had sex; and 15 percent of high school students have had sex with four or more partners during their lifetime,” (NCSL). In our society today sex is a very open subject and is being observed by young adults in everyday life. Walking down the street we see half naked women plastered on billboards and street signs, leaving nothing to the imagination and making adolescents everywhere question why and wonder what that is. As children we are taught that abstinence before marriage is the right way to live, and engaging in such

Half of all new human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HIV infections in the United States and two thirds of all sexually transmitted diseases (STD) occur among young people under the age of 25 (Starkman, Rajani). It’s estimated that by the end of high school, nearly two thirds of American’s youth are sexually active, and one in five has had four or more sexual partners (Starkman, Rajani). Despite these alarming statistics, less than half of all public schools in the United States offer information on how to obtain contraceptives and most schools teach "abstinence only" education (Starkman, Rajani). Even more alarmingly there is little evidence that abstinence only curriculums are successful in encouraging teenagers from delaying

Most of us are familiar with the alarming statistics about teen sexual activity in the United States. Among high school students, 54 percent (including 61% of boys and 48% of girls) say they have had sexual intercourse. According to a 1992 Center for disease Control Study. The # of 9th Graders who say they 've had sex is 40%. In the past two decades, there has been an explosion in the # of sexually transmitted diseases. 12 million people are infected each year; 63 percent of them are under 25. Each year, 1 of every 10 teenage girls becomes pregnant, and more than 400,000 teenagers have abortions. 1 in 4 children is born out of wedlock, compared to 1 in 20 in 1960. We have realized that since they stopped teaching sexual education in high schools that the teen pregnancy rates have increased. Today, we will talk about the bad vs. good in sexual education and now it will benefit students in the future.

Many young adults in the United States are ignoring the use of condoms, more to the extent college students, this declining trend can be seen at many US colleges because of a lack of efficient measures being taken to promote safe sex in ways such a lack of information in mandatory workshops, students failing to acknowledge the consequences of having unprotected sex, and poor promotion and advertising by the university to have safe sex. Many universities around U.S. are doing a really great job to promote safe sex among students by provide many useful advices as well as resources to help their student prevent from sexual diseases, but it’s still not effective enough. Writing in TIME Magazine, Katy Steinmetz explains that, " While teenagers in the U.S. are likely to use a condom the first time they have sex, their behavior becomes inconsistent after that." (Steinmetz 1) She also proclaims "with the use of condoms among teens stalling, STD rates are on the rise." (Steinmetz 1). Today, teens in the U.S. are the highest group to get contact with STD because of lack engagement in safe sex. Steinmetz believes part of the reason why is because of the public schools and their lack efforts to address the issue to students. She claims "Schools have competing health issues that they're asked to deal with, things like tobacco use, bullying, the obesity epidemic. It's been hard to keep attention focused on HIV and STD prevention." (Steinmetz 2) Also, with limited time frames for teachers, it is impossible to spend an adequate amount of their class periods on all of them, and often safe sex is not stressed like it should be. If teens do not understand why they need condoms, there is no incentive for them to seek them out and actually use them. Laura Kann, an

Even though many are getting pregnant there are also many who don’t get pregnant. They aren’t getting pregnant because they are getting protection. Joyce Tsai states, “…teen pregnancy rates have declined 51 percent and teen births are down 61 percent…” (1) which is a big improvement for teens. Some teenagers are irresponsible and don’t use protection when they are having sex so the girl gets pregnant and they don’t know what to do. Schools are also helping teens be a little more prepared and responsible about their sex lives. A woman from Planned Parenthood in Mar Monte says “…the move to offer condoms to middle school students at school-based health centers, where nurses, counselors and trained professionals can help students make more responsible decisions, is more important than ever.”(Tsai 2). She explains that students will be more responsible if they get everything they need at school by professionals. There are parents who are outraged by this because they think giving students condoms is a bad influence for them to have sex. As a result of that research has proven giving condoms to these students does not encourage them to become sexually active in any way. One parent says it is their responsibility to teach their kids about sex, “I’m one of those parents that believes in being open with my kids… it comes down to parents to teach their kids values and morals…” (Tsai 2). Even though many teens are

Teenagers today are very sexually active and with the benefit of using condoms it can reduce the risk of the teen becoming pregnant. According to an article by Stanley K. Henshaw, “Teenagers in the United States usually start their sexual activity at the age of seventeen and two thirds have had sex before graduating high school” (Henshaw). The percentage of high school girls becoming pregnant is increasing as the years go on. As soon as one person comes out and says that they have been having sexual intercourse with someone, then others will try and be “cool” and go have sex with whoever they see. With the teenager having sex in high school and other teenagers finding out that their friends are, it will be impossible to tell them to stop having sex.

Pregnancy and parenthood is a significantly life- altering event that anyone could experience. These two life events inquire not only physical but mental obstacles. What happens when these events occur when your body is not physically developed and your mental maturity is not fully ripened? This happens too often amongst the teen age population. In the United States, teen pregnancies are the highest when compared to other developed countries. Teen births account for 10% of all births in the United States. (NCHS) While the only way to solve this issue is to educate teens on prevention, Hispanics continue to have the highest teen pregnancy rates because lack of financial resources, lack of formal sexual education, and cultural beliefs.

Thesis Statement: Condoms and contraceptives should be freely given to high school students because of its effectiveness against the risks they face caused by their sexual lifestyle of today.

Because condoms are available, students will be more likely to use them. They hear lectures on the importance of using condoms in state-required sexual education classes. They see the dispensers every time they walk into the bathrooms. This makes the idea of sex ever-present in their daily environment. So students will be more likely to choose to engage in “safe sex”. After that, they may start to underestimate the risk and build up the feeling of invincibility that is commonly felt among teenagers. However, even if they were to continue using condoms, “safe sex” is truly nothing more than an illusion.

Teen Pregnancy is a very serious issue in America. There are many statistics and facts about teen pregnancy and how it is such a big problem in America. So, in my paper I want to talk about teen pregnancies and ways to prevent it. I want to explain that teen pregnancy is not the end of the world and that pregnant teens have a future. I want to also talk about my experience and how having a child at a young age changed my life in many different ways.

Coinciding with the onslaught of the new millennium, schools are beginning to realize that the parents are not doing their job when it comes to sexual education. The school system already has classes on sexual education; these classes are based mainly on human anatomy. Most schools do not teach their students about relationships, morals, respect, self-discipline, self-respect, and most importantly contraceptives. Everyday students engage in sexual activity, many of them with out condoms. This simple act jeopardizes these students' futures and possibly their lives. An increasing amount of school systems are starting to combine messages involving abstinence from sexual activity,