Nearly two-thirds of teenagers are sexually active before they graduate high school (Berne 90). Many parents oppose the teaching of sexual education and prefer that their children share their views and abstain from sex. Because of this, teenagers often have unsafe sex to avoid situations that come along with asking their parents for contraception such as birth control and condoms. Not using or having access to contraceptives increases the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. According to studies sponsored by The Alan Guttmacher Institution, controlling teen access to contraceptives proves unsuccessful in lowering sexual activity and increases the chance of pregnancy and transmitting sexual diseases (Rosenthal 144). Making sexual education and contraceptives available to teenagers would lower the pregnancy rates of teenagers, allow them to make well informed decisions, and prevent health problems related to sexually transmitted diseases.
Nearly 850,000 teenagers become pregnant each year, of these pregnancies over three-fourths are unintentional (Abstinence-Only 91). While condoms are not restricted by age, only four states allow teenagers access to birth control without any restrictions. Other states have a minimum age requirement, a certain marital status, or a parent must be involved to purchase the birth control. Using contraceptives effectively can reduce the risk of accidental pregnancies. Research done by Centers for Disease Control Prevention says that improved use of contraception has cut the teenage pregnancy rate in half (Abstinence-Only 95). Allowing teenagers access to contraceptives without restrictions could lower the already decreasing amount of unintended pregnancy.
Parents are often in oppositi...
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...d. Emma Carlson Berne. N.p.: Greenhaven, 2007. 97-102. Print.
Mundy, Liza. "Teens Should Have Access to Emergency Contraception." Teen Pregnancy. Ed. Emma Carlson Berne. N.p.: Greenhaven, 2007. 38-44. Print.
The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. "Abstinence Only Education Does Not Reduce Teen Pregnancy." Teen Pregnancy. Ed. Emma Carlson Berne. N.p.: Greenhaven, 2007. 89-96. Print.
Pan, Richard. "Teens Should Not Need Parental Permission to Have An Abortion." Teen Pregnancy. Ed. Emma Carlson Berne. N.p.: Greenhaven, 2007. 58-62. Print.
Williams, Tuala. "Teens Should Have Access to Birth Control." Birth Control. Ed. Beth Rosenthal. N.p.: Greenhaven, 2009. 109-14. Print.
Wind, Rebecca. "Teenagers Should Not Need Their Parents' Permission to Obtain Birth Control." Birth Control. Ed. Beth Rosenthal. N.p.: Greenhaven, 2009. 143-48. Print.
Eric Scheidler’s article “Teens Should Not Have Access to IUDs” was full of information opposing the idea of teens and birth control. This article was published in the year 2016, and lists several points as to why teens should not have access to birth control.
"Teen Pregnancy Prevention Focusing on Evidence: Ineffective Abstinence-Only Lessons Being Replaced with Science." The Nation's Health Apr. 2010: 1+. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
“Birth Control at School? Most Say It's OK.” Cbsnews.com 1 Nov 2007. Online. 13 Dec 2009
Chen, Grace. “Schools, Parents, and Communities Should Contribute to Educating Teens About Sex.” Teenage Sexuality. Ed. Aarti D. Stephens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. From “Public Schools and Sex Education.” Public School Review. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
"Minors Access to Contraceptive Health Care." Can I Get Birth Control Without Parent Permission?. 12 05 2005. Web. 11 Jan 2010. .
We already know that some minors are stupid enough, naive enough, or defiant enough to have sexual intercourse with another person. That is all you need to know to figure out if minors should or should not be able to use birth control, if they’re going do it anyways, they should be able to protect themselves for the future. Approximately 1 million adolescent teens become pregnant each year and 86% of STI’s (Sexually transmitted infection) happen between ages 15-29 years old, showing just how big of a social issue this is for Americans. A valid argue against is, if you don 't let them protect themselves, they won’t have sex at all, fearing the consequences. This essay will cover why it is imperative that it is legal for minors to use birth
Although some educators believe abstinence is the best way to teach sexual education to high school students, it often lacks the necessary information to help the teen make good decisions with their sex life. We should be giving the youth of today a complete sexual education curriculum and trust them to make the right decision on contraceptive and “staying safe”. Students should be taught the information concerning the different types of contraceptives available, the sexually transmitted diseases that can be contracted, and the effects. Having this information will allow the student to evaluate their decisions and make an educated decision about having sex.
Grundy, Kim. “The Teens and Birth Control Debate.” She Knows Parenting. She Knows, LLC, Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
The Feminist Women’s Health Center explain that teenagers who are sexually active who does not use any contraception has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within the first 12 months of being sexually active. Teens also become pregnant when contraceptive methods, such as birth control pills and condoms fail. In those groups of teens who become pregnant, more than one-third obtain an abortion, a forceful termination of the pregnancy through the removal of the embryo or fetus from the uterus. (Welton)
Clark, Charles S. "Teenagers and Abortion." CQ Researcher by CQ Press. N.P, n.d. Web. 03
Kohler et al. (2008)“Abstinence-only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 42(4): 344-351.
Stanger-Hall, K. & Hall, D. (2011). Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S. PLoS ONE 6(10).
As we see in the world today many teens are becoming mothers before they finish high school or before they turn 18. Although some teens are on birth control already many are not because they are afraid to tell their parents which may lead to their parents thinking they are sexually active. Moreover, teens usually find themselves in a professional clinic trying to seek different options of birth control but they are derailed by having parental consent or notification. Many clinics have a policy were teen needs to have parental consent to receive birth control. Many parents feel that teens should be able to make the choice by themselves if they are having sex or just being careful. But the one question many parents are unable to agree upon is should teens be allowed to receive birth control without parental consent.
Sex before marriage has always been a major issue. Teen pregnancy seems to double yearly: with no sign of stopping. Some teens use contraceptives and birth control incorrectly. They think pregnancy just can’t happen to them. In a lot of cases their embarrassed to buy protection or just simply unsure of how to use them. Many unplanned pregnancies happen beca...
We have all heard sad stories of unwanted teenage pregnancies. There are the girls who drop out of school to care for babies they did not really want, having to work to support their unexpected new "families." There are the guys who marry before they are ready and perhaps to wives they would not otherwise have married-so often these marriages end in divorce. Most tragic of all, though, are the children who grow up knowing that they were not wanted in the first place, knowing that they were more a burden to their parents than a joy even before they were born. Clearly, we as a society need to get a grip on this problem of teenage pregnancy, and the obvious solution is to encourage teens to be responsible and practice birth control. But we face so many choices in deciding which type of birth control to use. Condoms? IUDs? Diaphragms? DepoProvera injections? "The Pill"? Abortion? Abstinence? Which method of birth control is the most practical and the most likely to provide a legitimate solution to the problem of teenage pregnancy?