Why Doesn T Teens Wait?

Teen pregnancy is an issue in United States, it is one issue that should wait until teens are married and know what they are doing with their lives. This issue came about in the early in the 1950’s – 1960’s. Teen pregnancy is a teenage girl between the ages 13-19 (girls who haven’t reached adulthood) having unwanted or wanted babies. Janet Bode once stated in her book, “Emotions run everywhere, scared, sad, disappointment and preparation for what is about to happen” (Bode 51). If we do not act now, teen pregnancy will be out the roof. Teen pregnancy needs a stop put to it no matter what, teens are still children themselves and they are still learning how to take care of themselves:

Due to the lack comprehensive sex education, they are left in the dark about how to be properly prepared for a situation that may arise regarding sexual activity and how to protect them against sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy. It is a great down fall the lack of education on contraceptives, which only leaves American teens at a greater risk for long-term consequences.

Multiple factors influence the rate of teen pregnancy. Some of the most important factors influencing pregnancy rates are socioeconomic status, education, and family income. With low socioeconomic status and income, parents may not always be present in their children’s lives in order to educate them on sex. School districts, then, take on the responsibility to educate teenagers on sexual intercourse and safe practices, but some fail. Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. provided statistics showing that while many schools push abstinence-only programs, they show little to no positive impact on preventing teen pregnancies (Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. (n.d.)). While abstinence may work for some, it is not realistic to believe that all teens will abide by it. Teens need a comprehensive sexual education with emphasis on safe sex practices, which is where Be Safe, Not Sorry comes into play. The comprehensive program will cover all

One major problem in America’s society today is teen pregnancy rates. In fact, “teen sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing are associated with substantial social, economic, and health costs” (Sedgwick). However, this problem is not one without a solution. The rise of teen pregnancy rates can be prevented and reversed by providing better access to birth control for teens, eliminating the negative connotation that accompanies abstinence, and implementing more efficient sex education in public schools.

Teen pregnancy and the risk of it remains a serious issue for today’s adolescents. In 2015, there were 229,715 babies born to women from the ages of 15 to 19 (Martin). Accidental teen pregnancies could be prevented if more comprehensive sex education was taught at school and birth control was more accessible and affordable for teens. Guttmacher Institute lead a study on the issue of birth control and teens. The results showed that an 8% increase in use of contraceptives related to a 42% drop in pregnant teenagers over the course of seven years (Spadafino). Even though birth control has been proven to lower the risk of unwanted pregnancies, our society still views it as a taboo topic.

“It looks so easy, I want one too.”1 In 2011, Time Magazine published an article, “Teens Answer: Why I had a Baby”. The magazine hired a consultant to interview current and former teenager students in the South Bronx (New York) to get their perspective on why teens chose to have a child. Overall, the responses reflected that at that age teenagers are “impulsive, naive, not very self-reflective and poor at planning.”2 Teen pregnancy is a problem in the US. “Of the nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies in the U.S. each year, 82% are unintended.”3 With this alarming number of teenage girls getting pregnant, all birth control options should available for a teen and not restricted. The reasons for making birth control options available are: Will reduce teen pregnancy; will reduce the number of teenage abortions; and will give the teenager more responsibility. The opposing view believes abstinence is the answer. Making birth control more assessible will help teenagers finish their high school education then get a good job instead of forcing many into a cycle of poverty.

The fact that the United States does not actually require mandatory sex education is of utmost concern, seeing that places where sex education is not taught at all also experience the highest birthrates. In addition to places where sex education is not taught at all, areas in which abstinence-only education were taught also faced higher birthrates (Stanger-Hall and Hall 6). While abstinence only programs have shown no real statistical evidence of success, comprehensive sex education programs have, by combining the positives of both abstinence and information on how to engage in safe sex (Starkman and Rajani 314). In comprehensive sex education, students are taught not only how to use contraceptives properly, but also how to obtain them, as well as other aspects of practicing safe sex. Encouragingly, comprehensive sex education has shown a forty percent success rate in all of the following, “delaying the initiation of sex, reducing the number of sexual partners, and increasing contraceptive use.” Even more impressively, there was sixty-seven percent rate in these areas individually (Malone and Rodriguez 1). Teaching that abstinence is the only option, and providing no alternatives, leaves many teens vulnerable to engaging in unsafe sex out of pure incompetence (Starkman and Rajani 314). Despite many concerns, comprehensive sex education does not make a teenager more likely to be sexually active, and is surprisingly supported by the majority

In the article “Abstinence Is the Best Policy in Preventing Teen Pregnancy” posted on the Opposing Viewpoints database, it is argued that teenagers are incapable of assessing and considering the risk of premarital sex and comprehension of the challenges in facing an unwanted pregnancy. The article goes on to say that while they are maturing, teens are drawn more to risky behavior including sexual behavior, and “as those choices get more risky […] guidance and limits from parents that are reinforced by peers, teachers, and other authority figures are critically important”. This article also challenges the results of sex education by stating that it is merely educational and shown to inform rather than change teens

Kearney and Levine (2012) explore two goals 1) understanding why the teen birth rate is so high in the US and 2) and understanding why it matters. The authors explore different sources of information to put current rates of teen births into perspective. Kearney et al. (2012) explore teen birthrates joint with pregnancy, abortion and “shotgun” marriage rates as a well as the antecedent behaviors of sexual activity and contraceptive use. The study found that being on a low economic route in life leads many teenage girls to have children while they are young and unmarried and that poor endings seen later in life are simply the extension of the low economic route (Kearney and Levine,

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).

The United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’S) compared to other developed countries (Darroch, Singh, Frost, 2001). There are several arguments when it comes to sexual education being taught in school systems. Many parents fear their student will learn too much at young age and won’t know how often sexual education is being discussed. Children in today’s society are going through puberty at young ages and obviously waiting years to become married. According to Health News (2009), students in the United States 12 years of age had already participated in vaginal intercourse by 12%, 7.9% of 12 year old students participated in oral sex, and 6.5% participated in anal sex. The statistics just mentioned are very startling! Teenagers becoming sexually active by age 14 are at a higher risk of having multiple sex partners throughout their lifetime. A study found about 8 in 10 males and 7 in 10 females had become sexually active by age 19 (Guttmacher, 1981). Another survey proved 64% of males and 44% of females were sexually active by their 19th birthday. By 15 years of age, 7 in 10 males and 5 in 10 females reported having sexual intercourse (Masserman & Uribe, 1989). Proper condom use is important to be taught to students. Many sexually active teens don’t know how to properly use condoms. Proper condom application will prevent the risk of unwanted teenage pregnancy, spread of sexually

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

In today’s society teens are faced with many pressures. The effect of these pressures put on them, is the inability to make right decisions when it comes to certain situations. One of the most common situations teens find themselves in is becoming a parent at a young age, a result of pressure to have sex from peers. Over the years, the numbers of teen pregnancy have indeed decreased, but in the United States alone, teen pregnancies are at an all time high. A recent study conducted by Victor C. Strasburger, a doctor at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, concluded that of the teen pregnancies, 95% of them are unplanned, and only a third of the pregnancies end with the mother keeping the child. With statistics like these, the

While the facts are clear, the issues of teen pregnancy are complicated by our attitudes and behaviors.” (Christensen & Rosen, 1996 ¶ 1) Americans need to step up and get a handle on the issue of teen pregnancy. Television shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom display a message that being a teen parent is easy. However these shows are edited and do not show the everyday effects that it has on teen parents. Americans need to step up and educate teens on how to prevent pregnancy. Abstinence only education is currently not working, therefore we need to educate teens about birth control and how to safely protect themselves when having sex. Educate them on where they can go to receive contraceptives and information on how to use them properly.

"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.