Birth control should not be given to teenagers. This is a fact that should not be taken for granted neither by seniors nor by any government or private organizations that cater to teenage needs and other issues related to adolescents and/or youths. There are many different reasons why birth control should be advocated for teenagers.
For one, it should be noted that women’s reproductive health is very important; hence it must always be taken into consideration. Various studies and researches were done which are all aimed at informing all concerned individuals on how to properly take care of women’s reproductive health as well as the means and ways of preventing women from different kinds of problems (e.g., unwanted pregnancies, abortion, etc.) and diseases (AIDS, etc.). However, if the idea of birth control is presented to teenagers, this would only mean that the idea of unwanted pregnancy will also come up … and this will surely present more and bigger problems.
One of the most imminent issues related to women’s reproductive health is unwanted pregnancies. According to the article printed in the United States, consequences of unintended pregnancy can be serious, even life-altering, particularly for women who are “young or unmarried, have just recently given birth or already have the number of children they want.” An unplanned pregnancy can be a barrier to obtaining timely prenatal care because it may take weeks or months for a woman to realize or accept that she is pregnant. Lack of prenatal care —along with poor birth-spacing or giving birth before or after one’s childbearing prime —can pose health risks for the woman and for her newborn (Bishop, 1984). In addition, an unintended pregnancy can interfere with a young woman’s education, limiting her employment possibilities and her ability to support herself and her family. Largely for reasons such as these, half of the women who become pregnant unintentionally decide to have an abortion, which can be a serious decision in itself (The Guttmacher Report, 2007).
All over the world, the rate of unintended pregnancy is unacceptably high. The means and ability to prevent unintended pregnancy is well known among healthcare professionals and education providers, but apparently, not among the public or ordinary civilians (MacLean, 2004). This is the very reason why various methods of contraception were introduced. However, as the need for contraceptive methods is continuously rising, the number of issues concerning contraceptives’ health risks and benefits is also increasing. Now, more and more people see the need to use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, but they are also careful about the health benefits that they can achieve from each form of contraceptive as they are also wary about the risks they may face while and years after using such contraceptive.
This is exactly the reason why the idea of using birth control should not be given to teenagers. Birth control methods in themselves result in underlying problems which affect not only the whole of women’s reproductive health but also the overall perception towards life and towards their body.
The second big reason why birth control is not a good idea to be promoted to teenage minds is because of the arising number of problems that are now being encountered with regards to rates of teenage pregnancy across countries. There are reports that fraudulent counseling centers offering support to teenage women are potentially putting women’s health at risk by forcing them to discontinue pregnancy at all costs. Providing false medical information, making moral and religious judgments, and showing graphic videos or material that misrepresents abortion are among the methods these centers use to coerce teenagers (MacLean, 2004).
There are more than 100 fraudulent counseling centers across Canada alone, which would mean that in other countries, there could be more. These fraud counseling centers are often listed in the Yellow Pages as “abortion alternatives,” they use names such as Crisis Pregnancy Center, Pregnancy Distress Center, Beginnings Crisis Pregnancy Care, Care Center for Women, and Birth Right. These centers are often found in smaller towns where no other counseling options may exist. In larger cities, they may locate themselves near medical centers, Planned Parenthood offices, or abortion clinics in an effort to attract women. Funding usually comes from charities or religious groups who believe pre-marital sex, contraception, and informed choice is immoral. These centers may use marketing strategies such as providing false medical information; forcing their religious beliefs or opinions on women; using graphic images and videos that misrepresents abortion procedures; telling pregnant teens not to tell their parents about the pregnancy, as the parents may advise abortion; and claiming that condoms and other forms of contraception don’t work (MacLean, 2004).
Hence, if teenagers are given false hopes or if they are given wrongful ideas regarding birth control, they will be the ones who will really suffer in the end.
The third reason why birth control should not be advocated for teenagers is that there are more other things that teenagers must learn before any idea of controlling pregnancy is given. I personally think that because teenagers are receiving too much information, they became confused about where to start first or how this information is related to each other. Maybe, what the society or educators should have first are the properly outlined topics and information that should also be given to all members of the population, particularly the teenagers. There are several topics included in the topic of women’s reproductive health, and I have found one good outline that tackles all about this topic. And this is as follows:
A. Guide to Reproductive Health
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Causes for Menstrual Disturbances
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- Ectopic Pregnancy
- Cervical Cancer
- Toxic Shock Syndrome
B. Infertility
- Infertility and Conception
- When Am I Fertile?
- Factors Affecting Fertility
- Products for Conception
C. Responsible Sexual Choices & You
- Teens and Sex
- Sex and Singles
- Everything-But-Sex
- Sex and Marriage
- Infidelity
Meanwhile, many governments and privately owned institutions offer discussions and/or lectures regarding reproductive health and, more specifically but are we all aware where to contact or how to reach them, if in case we have some further inquiries? I believe that these institutions should also provide the contact information of this agency or medical professionals who can give further explanations to the people’s inquiries. I have found some cite which offers this kind of information, and these are as follows:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1600 Clifton Rd., NE, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
- Medical Institute for Sexual Health P.O. Box 4919, Austin, TX 78765-4919; Tel. (800) 892-9484, Fax (512) 472-7062
- The Couple to Couple League, P.O. Box 111184, Cincinnati, OH 45211 (513) 661-7612
- Elisa Janine Sobo, Choosing Unsafe Sex: Aids-Risk Denial Among Disadvantaged Women, 1995.
- AIDS Information Hotline (CDC): 1-800-342-2437
- JAMA AIDS Information Center
- HIV/AIDS Hotline 1-800-922-AIDS
- WPRC Pregnancy Information Site
The last, and definitely not the least, a big reason why the idea of birth control should be presented to teenagers is the fact that birth control in itself offers a lot of problems and burdens to society. Yes, it can be noted that the teen pregnancy rate is unacceptably high. This shows that the means and ability to prevent unintended pregnancy may be well known among healthcare professionals and education providers, but with regards to the efficacy of contraceptive methods used, statistics reveal that (MacLean, 2004):
- The effectiveness of short-term contraceptive methods varies according to the age, marital and economic status of the person using them. For example, the failure rate of the pill for girls under 20 is about 6%, double the pill’s overall rate.
- Human error often plays a part in the contraceptive failure. For example, withdrawal has a failure rate of 4% if used perfectly, but for typical users, the failure rate is 19% or higher.
- There is no 100% effective method of contraception. Next to sterilization, contraceptive implants like NORPLANT (which are new to Canada) are the most effective contraceptive – fewer than 1/2 of 1% of users become pregnant in the first year of use.
To reiterate, the idea of birth control is strongly suggested not to be presented to teenagers yet because there are more other and many important things that they have to know first when it comes to their health, much more about the women’s reproductive health. If, at this early stage, they will already realize how pregnancy can be prevented, then they will also be given ideas that they will not need to take responsibility for their actions. They can easily splurge on premarital sex or teenage sex because they know that there are measures that they can do to prevent giving birth. More so, if at this very you age, they will already learn the various approaches of birth control, it is as if we are just giving them permission to do anything they want to their body because there’s no harm that they can do with it… and so they will already disregard the fact that they have to take care of their body, their emotions and ultimately, their own self.
References
- Birth Control Guides. 1997. Epigee.com.
- Bishop, Mary F. 1984. “Vivian Dowding: Birth Control Activist” in Not Just Pin Money: Selected Essays on the History of Women’s Work in British Columbia. Eds. Barbara K. Latham and Roberta J. Pazdro. Victoria: Camosum College. p.327.
- Contraceptive Use in Canada. 2004.
- MacLean, Adele. Fraudulent Counseling Centers Put Pregnant Women at Risk. [online] 2004.
- Preventing Unintended Pregnancy: The Need and the Means. 2003. The Guttmacher Report. [online]