Preventing Teenage Pregnancy With Plan B

Superior Essays
If you were able to prevent a pregnancy with Plan B when you were fifteen, would you have had unprotected sex? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reducing the minimum age required to purchase Plan B to 15-years-old will cause other issues to rise as they watch teen pregnancy rates fall. Young teens without proper education will choose to use Plan B instead of condoms as protection from pregnancy without realizing they can contract sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). If most teens do not take their home and school responsibilities seriously, they will not make smart choices in protecting their health. Because young teens do not have much life experiences, they will ignore the warning labels on package. Even though the availability of Plan …show more content…
While teen pregnancy rates lower, the rate of STDs will continue to rise. The CDC reported there are 110.2 million people that have an STD in the US, and high school students have the highest risk of contracting STDs (Bratsis). Bratsis highlights, “Among people ages 15 to 24, the total number of new infections include 6.9 million with HPV, 1.8 million with chlamydia, 574,000 with gonorrhea, and 349,200 with HSV-2.” While there are over 100 million people infected with an STD, the number of teens that have contracted an STD is extremely high. Many teenagers think they are invincible until they have an awful experience. Open communication is essential to remind young teens they do not have to contract an STD if they use proper safeguards.
Finally, young teens do not carefully consider the risks and consequences of using Plan B. They might not read the label and have an allergic reaction to the drug. Frank Davidoff mentions a flaw in young teens concerned the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee (RHDAC) as they deliberated the decision to allow 15-year-olds to purchase Plan B. Frank describes a discussion held by the RHDAC on the competency of young
…show more content…
“"Teens and Stds." Science Teacher, March 2014. Education Source (EBSCO), http://db29.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=94603776&site=ehost-live. Accessed 25 Nov. 2016.
Davidoff, Frank. "Sex, politics, and morality at the FDA: reflections on the Plan B decision." The Hastings Center Report, Mar.-Apr. 2006. EBSCOhost, http://discover.linccweb.org/FLCC2900:TN_museS1552146X06200208. Accessed 16 Nov. 2016.
Krishnamurti, Tamar, et al. “The impact of over-the-counter availability of “Plan B” on teens ' contraceptive decision making.” Social Science & Medicine, 5 June 2008. ScienceDirect, http://discover.linccweb.org/FLCC2900:TN_gale_ofa195927272. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
Rabin, Roni Caryn. "Contraception and the Courts." New York Times, 8 Apr. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://discover.linccweb.org/FLCC2900:TN_gale_ofa325396536. Accessed 18 Nov. 2016.
Shellenbarger, Sue. “What Teens Need Most From Their Parents.” The Australian, 19 Aug. 2016. LexisNexis Academic, http://discover.linccweb.org/FLCC2900:TN_gale_ofa460998977. Accessed 20 Nov. 2016. van Empelen, Pepijn, and Gerjo Kok. “Action-specific Cognitions of Planned and Preparatory Behaviors of Condom Use among Dutch Adolescents.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2008. doi:

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