The Other Wes Moore: The Comprehensive Prevention Of Teen Pregnancy

Improved Essays
The Comprehensive Prevention of Teen Pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy remains a catastrophic occurrence that wreaks havoc on the lives of millions. Wes Moore’s The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates published in 2010 compares and contrasts the lives of two different individuals with the same name. The lives of the two men overlap at times, but ultimately the final paths of their lives remain extremely different. The author Wes Moore has led a successful life as a Rhodes Scholar; however, the other Wes Moore will be in prison for the remainder of his life for manslaughter. In the course of the other Wes Moore’s life, he faces the daunting problem of becoming a teenage parent. Some say that abstinence-only education is the best way to prevent teen
…show more content…
By constantly missing school, he was prevented from gaining the instruction that he deserved and needed. Part of this missed education would have been a proper sexual education. Wes Moore had a biased attitude that it was the sole responsibility of the female to prevent pregnancy, which was reflected as he questioned, “How could Alicia have let herself get pregnant? He thought maybe it was a mistake. Maybe the results would change” (Moore 99). To Wes, it was Alicia’s job to use protection, or Alicia’s body “chose” to get pregnant. As comprehensive sexual education would have taught Wes, it is both partners’ responsibility to prevent pregnancy because it takes two people to create a child. The fact that he thought the “results would change” signifies a lack of mental maturity even though he is physically old enough to create a child. Furthermore, comprehensive sexual education would have educated Wes on the mental maturity that it takes to become a parent. Parenthood is not something that anyone should take lightly, especially …show more content…
Alicia had ideals that “[she] hoped that she could giver her child the two-parent household that she’d never had. But before the baby even came into the world, she realized how unlikely that would be” (Moore 101). Alicia seems to care for her unborn child already, but she is not happy that Wes is already discarding her for other women. She wants to provide a good life for her child, yet she recognizes that she will be a single mother. If she had the chance to go back in time and chose not to get pregnant, would she? Most likely because she is not happy with the way Wes is acting. She wanted to give her child what she never had, but she recognizes that it will never happen. If Wes or Alicia would have used protection or practiced abstinence, then Alicia may not have ever gotten

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Babies tend to grow up and act like their parents, and become accustomed to their surroundings both negatively and positively. They only know the world through their parents, friends, and community. What is seen and heard in everyday lives becomes the norm. In the book The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates, written by Wes Moore, the author examines where the Other Wes Moore went wrong and where the Author Wes Moore went right.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Having a supportive role model can shape an individual’s future and turn their life around if struggling. In The Other Wes Moore One Name, Two Fates, by Wes Moore, both Wes Moore’s made bad decisions, but the question arises from whether or not a role model turned the author’s life around. In “I Just Wanna be Average”, by Mike Rose, and “The Achievement of Desire”, by Richard Rodriguez, Rose and Rodriguez also had great role models who helped them in becoming successful. The author’s role models, including his mother and Captain Hill, and the other Wes Moore’s unsupportive family members, including his mother and Tony, had a lot to do with the future of the two boys.…

    • 1485 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Steady Decline of Teen Pregnancy Teen pregnancy, which is most commonly defined as adolescents from ages 15- 19, is not only a private trouble. Childbearing during the teen years not only have negative effects on the young parents but the children as well. Compared to ninety percent of women graduating high school by the age of twenty-two, only fifty percent of teen mothers receive their high school diploma by age twenty-two (NC Dept. of Health and Human Services 2015). These youth are more likely to rely heavily on public assistance and are more likely to be poor as adults, which may adversely affect their children’s education level and wage earnings (Guilford County Dept. of Public Health 2013).…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The birth rate among teen girls has dropped 67% since 1991, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Although the rates have dropped, teen pregnancy still continues to be a significant problem in our society. Many young women are being robbed of their chance to continuing their education since their responsibility is to take care of their young newborn. One idea to solve this problem of teenage pregnancy is instituting Planned Parenthood in schools to provide teens with contraception. While this may decrease the number of teenage pregnancies, it may also influence students to engage in premarital sex since the means to do that safely is now available at no cost.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “Unmarried with Children” the authors Edin, Kathryn and Maria Kefalas, discuss with a young girl named Jen Burke the struggles of becoming a mother at a young age without any education, husband or much money. The question “why do they have children while still young and unmarried when they will face such an uphill battle to support them?” is asked and Jen opens up about why she chose to make the decisions that she did. I chose this article because I relate to it. Although I did not grow up in the same social setting as Jen, we are both young women unmarried with children. Kathryn Kefalas is a Professor in the Department of Sociology.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After reading the excerpt from “Dubious Conceptions: The Politics of the Teenage Pregnancy Crisis” by Kristin Luker, I found myself agreeing with multiple topics she discussed. The first point of agreement is how our society has been using scapegoats for social issues, especially teenage pregnancy, and blaming that social issue and others for creating poverty rather than viewing it as a result of poverty. This social issue started a stereotype or perceived image of a teen mother. Teen goes to college, grows up and gets married, and obtains financial stability before bearing children is the basic American image. Being a teen mom would disrupt, the woman who financially stable and have a steady career should only bear children narrative.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pregnancy: a social problem? Or an everyday thing I have chosen to explore the effects of teen pregnancy among males. Society doesn’t understand how these boys feel when they find out that their girlfriend is pregnant. Some just don’t want to the responsibility, others step up to the plate and take care of their responsibilities Guys are even affected more by teen pregnancy than girls due to the financial and social issues that they have to deal with when having a kid at a young age Such as not being able to live the life that these guys want and having to give up friends as a result. My purpose for writing this paper is to address the cause and effect of teen pregnancy.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Teenage Pregnancy Satire

    • 1960 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Baby Mama Drama Teen pregnancy is one of the biggest issues in America. It’s everywhere. It’s promoted on television, social media sites and even right here, in our local high schools. Teen pregnancy has become glamorized and young girls think it’s okay to have a baby before they are even twenty years old.…

    • 1960 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Teen pregnancy has been around for many years, but throughout my junior high and high school years it was more noticeable. I can remember being in junior high and there were a few girls in high school who were pregnant. All my friends and I would hear many rumors about the girls who were pregnant and then judge them based on the rumors. There were rumors going around that the girls “got around”, the girls who got pregnant partied all the time and that’s why they were pregnant, they slept with so many guys that they did not know who the father of the child was, just many rumors that were not true at all!…

    • 2309 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Pregnancy Among Teens Teenage pregnancy has been a prevalent issue in our society for many decades. There are many factors that can result in adolescents becoming pregnant, including peer pressure, socio-economic status, and cultural influences (Hall & Hall, p. 2). However, according to many researchers, the main cause of the high birth rate among adolescents is the sex education, or lack thereof, being taught in high schools.…

    • 1961 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The teens pregnancy is not a new occurrence in our society, however, the perception of American society on this topic changed in the last century. Until late 1800’s, main concern about pregnant teen was to be married before baby was born and most of states codes allowed girls as young as 12 to do so (Teen Pregnancy, 2008). However, due to living condition, poor diet and diseases, most of teen girls did not reach physical maturity until late teens which limited number of early pregnancies. In 1900’s, the changes in law resulted in decreased rate of early marriage and pregnancy, until 1940s to 1960s when rate of teens pregnancy drastically increased (to about 70-80 births per 1000). In 1970s to 1990s, with girls reaching puberty in an younger age and increased numbers of people postponing marriage (due to increasing divorce rate, reliable contraceptive methods, seeking education) more single females become mothers.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He sees her across the room. The most beautiful girl in the world, Mary Lynn is her name and she is all his. They both sit in Health class going through another abstinence lesson. Miss. Chauffeur calls out “remember students don't have sex till marriage it's a magical thing.”…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    STD Among Adolescents

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Supporters of abstinence-only programs are terrified that if we teach adolescents a human biology lesson, along with a tutorial on how to use contraception, the sex rate among adolescents is going to skyrocket. Yet this fear, even though realistic, has been proven wrong with research conducted by some of the best sociologists in the United States. Douglas Kirby was one of these gifted sociologist who dedicated his life to studying the various effects that different sex education programs had on adolescents and determined that “focusing on sexuality along with a discussion of the use of condoms and contraception does not increase sexual activity” (Kirby 171). By teaching them the importance of abstinence along with the use of contraception, adolescents have more motivation to abstain from…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Teen Pregnancy has become a major problem in the United States and this paper will explore the ways to help reduce that problem. Everyday thousands of teens are putting themselves at risk for pregnancies. Some ways to reduce teen pregnancies is to have more sex education in schools and also provide birth control methods and condoms. These ways will stop kids having sex and have kids pay more attention in school so they can pursue a career instead of having to go through the stress of having a kid and keeping their grades up in school. One way to reduce teen pregnancies is to have more sex education in schools.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    "I’m pregnant." The most terrifying two words a parent can hear their teenager say aren’t "I failed" or "I crashed". Two haunting lines on a $10.97 stick that evince the alteration of one’s life forever. A teenage pregnancy that could be prevented by a prescription of a small round pill or a thin piece of rubber is the modern day American tragedy. Trademarked by a loss of innocence, a child born to a teenager is a breathing scarlet letter that symbolizes an impediment teenage parents must combat uninterrupted by the hubbub of regular American life.…

    • 1438 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays