Contraception

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Recommended: Importance of sexual education to teens

Adolescence is a time of great change, both physically and mentally. During this time, teens are undergoing puberty and making the transition from childhood into emerging childhood. Due to this, the issue on whether or not adolescents should be allowed access to contraceptives is a heavily controversial one. Many argue that adolescents are too young to receive this privilege, or that allowing access to them to contraceptives will further push adolescence to sustain sexual activities. However, with today’s hyper sexualized society, it better serves the public interest to grant adolescents access to contraception. If adolescents have access to contraceptives, such as Plan B (“the morning-after pill”) or birth control pills, than the number of teen pregnancies in the nation would decrease. Furthermore, adolescents are mature enough to make their own decisions, thus they are grown enough to have the right to use contraceptives.
The biggest concern people have with making contraceptives available to adolescents, is the belief that the availability of such material will result in increased numbers of teens engaging in sexual activity. In a survey taken in 2007, 46% of Americans said that “providing teens with birth control would encourage sexual behavior,” (Finer & Philbin, 2013, p. 887) On the other hand, it has been supported that granting access to adolescents about contraception has no affect on teen sexual activity. In a recent study, the data shows that giving girls the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine, a form of contraception that helps protect against sexually transmitted diseases, did not increase their sexual activity, (Finer & Philbin, 2013, p. 890). According the American Academy of Pediatrics (2007), if adolescents are ...

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...llow for a decrease in teen pregnancies and STD’s. In order to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancy and sexual illness, sexually active adolescents need access to contraceptives, (Bankole & Malarcher, 2010, p. 119). Without access to proper and effective contraception, adolescents are left at a higher risk for unwanted teen pregnancies, “back-alley” abortions, and sexual diseases, which can all be potential life threatening conditions. Thus, allowing adolescence to obtain contraceptives will help those sexually active engaged in safe sex.

Works Cited

Pediatrics Vol. 120 No. 5 November 1, 2007. pp. 1135 -1148
Finer, L. B., & Philbin, J. M. (2013). Sexual initiation, contraceptive use, and pregnancy among young adolescents. Pediatrics, 131(5), 886-891.
Contraception and adolescents. (2007). Pediatrics, 120(5), 1135-1148. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-2535

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