Teen Pregnancy Essay

Suppose your 16 year old son comes to you and says “Dad I’m dating this really hot girl and I think I want to go all the way with her.” Or suppose your 15 year old daughter informs you that she is 2 months pregnant? Teens, from all walks of life, always seem to want to race into adulthood regardless of the consequences. Sex is a big rite of passage for many teens. Peer pressure and glamorized television programs give the wrong impression to impressionable teens, which are not mature enough to make this type of decision. Deciding to have sex without all the information needed to be responsible, can lead to life changing results for all parties involved. Some are saying that teaching teens about birth control is encouraging them to go out and have sex. George Monboit states: “Abstinence-only supporters still insist that American children should be deprived of sex education, lied to about contraception and maintained in a state of medieval ignorance. If their own children end up with syphilis or unwanted babies, that, it seems, is a price they will pay for preserving their beliefs.” (Monboit, 2009). In the past several years more than $1.5 billion taxpayer dollars has been used for abstinence-only programs that do not work. (Richards, 2008). It has also been stated that President Obama wants to get rid of abstinence education funding and instead create sex education programs. (Bradley, K. & Kim, C. 2009) Studies also show that teens that abstain from sex have higher academic achievement. Students who abstain have a less likely chance of being expelled, dropping out of school and going on to graduate from college. (Bradley, K. & Kim, C. 2009)
It has been reported that teen(s), girls especially, who abstain from sex have less peer stress, and more improved emotional and mental health. Teaching teens about birth control is teaching them to be responsible for their decision to have sex. Also, it shows them that birth control not only prevents pregnancy, but STD’s.
The most common form of birth control, other than abstinence, is condoms. There are many forms of birth control to choose from. There is the patch, the pill, the ring, shot, cervical cap, diaphragm, emergency birth control, and the morning after pill, Plan B, implants, IUD and withdrawal. (Gavin, M 2013). Parents and schools need to jump on the band wagon and start giving more education to teens about birth control. Abstinence can be pounded in, lectured about and threatened to a teen, but in the end they will do what they want. Giving teens the options to be responsible will at least play a big part in how they use that responsibility. “To teach teenagers about birth control might seem at odds with promoting abstinence. By doing so, aren’t parents throwing in the towel? Surrendering themselves to the idea that teenagers are going to have sex, and nothing adults say or do is going to change that? No, they’re being practical. Nine in ten adolescents have had intercourse by the time they turn twenty.” (healthychildren.org) The ramifications of unprotected sex are too overwhelming and affect too many lives for parents not to inform boys (especially boys) and girls about methods of birth control other than unceasing abstinence. School sex-education programs cannot be depended on to present this information. (healthychildren.org) It has been shown by research “that the most effective programs are comprehensive ones that include a focus on delaying sexual behavior and provide information on how sexually active young people can protect themselves.” (healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen). For all their seeming worldliness, adolescents can harbor some astonishingly incorrect ideas about sex. These preconceptions then get passed along to their peers. Your job as your child’s primary sex educator is not just to teach him about sex; it’s to “unteach” all the misinformation he’s heard that may get him into trouble. (healthychildren.org)

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