Most individuals assume that birth control pills were established in the 1960 although the activity dates back several years. A considerable number of traditional cultures developed clean portions of plants and tree bark as a form of controlling birth. Some statistics reveal that an extraction from the silphium plant was quite effective in controlling pregnancy.
Research shows that the plant was in use for over one thousand years ago. New methods were developed during the middle age where some methods were proved to be critical for women that did not realize the consequences of taking mercury or lead. However, with time, there have been improvements in medical technology that has as a result replaced such ineffective approaches of birth control.
Research has revealed that there are some doctors who do not prescribe birth control pills to teenagers or anyone under the age of eighteen (National Research Council 45). Such doctors fail to understand that most youths or teenagers within that age group are quite active sexually due to curiosity or peer pressure. This implies that when doctors refuse to prescribe birth control pills to these teenagers, they are most likely to face some harsh consequences.
For instance, absence of birth control pills means unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, early and unprepared parenthood, loss of parental assistance and dropping out of school. Some of the young women even choose to abort the child, which is illegal. Teenagers and anyone under the age of eighteen should be provided with birth control pills by doctors because such control pills help in controlling or reducing teenage pregnancies.
However, they should not encourage youths to have sex. As long as proper education is provided to these youths, they will not engage in sex every now and then. This paper seeks to find out relevant solutions that can help overcome the problem of doctors’ unwillingness to prescribe birth control pills to teenagers and anyone under the age of eighteen. This is because of the current rise in teenage pregnancies within the society and the world as a whole.
Problem Statement
Doctors’ not prescribing birth control pills to teenagers and anyone under the age of eighteen has become a big issue in the entire world. This is because a considerable number of people think that abstinence is the best method, whereas others think that teenagers are supposed to learn how to develop responsible choices in case they plan to engage in sexual activities.
Although abstinence is the only best method to guarantee reduced immorality and unwanted pregnancies, teenage pregnancy rates are constantly increasing, which makes one to think that the abstinence awareness program is not quite effective. This proposal aims at finding solutions that could help solve the problem where doctors are not prescribing birth control pills to teenagers and anyone under the age of eighteen.
Methodology
In order for the research to be successful, it needs to employ some methodologies that will provide the necessary information concerning the problem at hand. This proposal will employ interviews and questionnaires as the best methodologies in finding out why the doctors choose not to provide birth control pills to teenagers, as well as the views of parents, teachers and students concerning the issue. The results will be analyzed and possible solutions enacted depending on the views provided from the research.
Proposed Solution
According to Zonderman (67), there are laws that have been implemented in each state that grants any person under the age of eighteen or teenagers the rights to birth control pills or contraception.
It is advisable that both parents and teenagers learn about the various alternatives laws that exist within their specific dwelling locations so that they know what they are required to do in terms of accessing birth control pills from doctors. For instance, there are about twenty two states inclusive of New York and California that permit any person above the age of twelve to endorse birth control pills.
On the other hand, other nations or states only permit birth control pills to youths or minors who are already married, have accomplished their high school education or are under other programmed groups. When parents and their teenagers, as well as doctors learn and understand the laws governing them, they will both be in agreement on the best approach to take in order to help teenagers manage sexual issues and reduce early pregnancies.
In addition, rather than blaming doctors for not prescribing birth control pills to teenagers and any person under the age of eighteen, it is quite necessary that both teenagers and their parents or guardians develop a strong relationship with each other to create room for free expression between the child and the parent concerning matters of birth control pills and teenage pregnancy.
For instance, it is vital when teenagers talk to their parents because that is the best way in which they get the coverage they need concerning birth control pills. Parents will always have the knowledge on how to deal or handle their sexual active teenagers and they can choose to visit the doctor together so that they can be provided with best approaches depending with the health of the person in question.
Teenagers must check on the doctor in order to discuss their health history before commencing any prescribed birth control. This is because currently, there are a good number of birth control pills available in the market, each with its own side effects. Creating a strong connection with the health provider may result into ensuring that teenagers receive the best existing treatment that is both essential for birth control requirements and their entire health (National Research Council 46).
Furthermore, those doctors not prescribing birth control pills to teenagers will be advised not to be so strict when it comes to providing contraceptive to teenagers because of various reasons. For instance, contraceptive help in controlling unplanned for pregnancy and this will allow the teenager to continue with his or her education because they use birth control pills. Unplanned pregnancy comes with several responsibilities, which anyone under the age of 18 cannot handle.
This is because they lack enough resources such as financial resources to help support both the baby and themselves. These consequences and many others should enable doctors to help the sexually active teenagers and minors with the best methods of controlling pregnancies by accepting to prescribe the control pills to such minors after a serious medical check up. These are some of the proposed solutions that could help solve the problem of doctors not prescribing birth control pills to teenagers.
Works Cited
National Research Council. Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing. New York, NY: National Academies Press, 1987.
Zonderman, Jon. Birth control pills. New York, NY: Chelsea House, 2006.