Easier Access for Teens
“Expanding access to contraception is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancies…Women should never have to worry about being denied contraception, which is basic healthcare for many American women.” –Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood
Birth control should be accessible to teenagers without parental permission. Birth control comes in many forms, mainly the pill and condoms, and is used to prevent pregnancy, regulate menstrual cycles and hormones, reduce the chances of getting certain kinds of cancers, and reduce symptoms of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome, along with many other uses. (Guttmacher, “Contraceptive Use in the US”) Because so many women use contraception for such important health reasons, it should …show more content…
While this argument is valid, it’s also very patronizing. Teenagers are expected to make many important decisions that affects their entire life, and the debate of if they should be on birth control is no different than any other choice they have. Most adults don’t want their children on any contraceptives because they want the child to be abstinent, but that’s a very outdated thought process. (Valenti, “Abstinence Double Standard Threatens Girls’ Health”) It’s also a very systematic suppression of people’s sexual liberty. Many parents and adults today lived through a huge spike in teen pregnancy rates, so in their minds any sex at all leads to babies. Their parents as well were taught that sex equals sin, or that it makes one a floozy. In turn, this mindset has tried to carry down unto this generation, but people today are much more open about procreation. Not only as we are in a sexually liberated day and age, but also the ignorance of thinking birth control is just used for preventing pregnancy is potentially extremely devastating to one’s health. It is simply inhumane to deny a young person medicine that can ease symptoms of PMS and prevent cancers. When an adult dismisses a teenager’s need for medication such as this, they are basically saying, “I don’t want you to be safe or use preventative measures to benefit my consciousness …show more content…
Without easy attainment of contraceptives, the risks of teenage health far outweigh the implied benefits. Studies and polls have shown that forced parental involvement leads to less use in birth control. Alongside this, many people’s parents do not want them to or will not even let them have a say in their own medical decisions, which further hampers with less use of contraceptives. Furthermore, the widespread traditional way of thinking about birth control leads to uneducated and unprotected teenagers. In all, parental involvement has little to no place in a young adult’s sex or health
“Expanding access to contraception is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancies…Women should never have to worry about being denied contraception, which is basic healthcare for many American women.” –Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood
Birth control should be accessible to teenagers without parental permission. Birth control comes in many forms, mainly the pill and condoms, and is used to prevent pregnancy, regulate menstrual cycles and hormones, reduce the chances of getting certain kinds of cancers, and reduce symptoms of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome, along with many other uses. (Guttmacher, “Contraceptive Use in the US”) Because so many women use contraception for such important health reasons, it should …show more content…
While this argument is valid, it’s also very patronizing. Teenagers are expected to make many important decisions that affects their entire life, and the debate of if they should be on birth control is no different than any other choice they have. Most adults don’t want their children on any contraceptives because they want the child to be abstinent, but that’s a very outdated thought process. (Valenti, “Abstinence Double Standard Threatens Girls’ Health”) It’s also a very systematic suppression of people’s sexual liberty. Many parents and adults today lived through a huge spike in teen pregnancy rates, so in their minds any sex at all leads to babies. Their parents as well were taught that sex equals sin, or that it makes one a floozy. In turn, this mindset has tried to carry down unto this generation, but people today are much more open about procreation. Not only as we are in a sexually liberated day and age, but also the ignorance of thinking birth control is just used for preventing pregnancy is potentially extremely devastating to one’s health. It is simply inhumane to deny a young person medicine that can ease symptoms of PMS and prevent cancers. When an adult dismisses a teenager’s need for medication such as this, they are basically saying, “I don’t want you to be safe or use preventative measures to benefit my consciousness …show more content…
Without easy attainment of contraceptives, the risks of teenage health far outweigh the implied benefits. Studies and polls have shown that forced parental involvement leads to less use in birth control. Alongside this, many people’s parents do not want them to or will not even let them have a say in their own medical decisions, which further hampers with less use of contraceptives. Furthermore, the widespread traditional way of thinking about birth control leads to uneducated and unprotected teenagers. In all, parental involvement has little to no place in a young adult’s sex or health