Introduction
Birth control contraceptives are medications mainly used to prevent pregnancy. It is particularly important for young individuals that are not mature to have children yet. Teens should be considered responsible for the decisions they make concerning the use of contraceptives or for choices on the use of any appropriate method of birth control. This essay will examine reasons that prove that representatives of minorities and teens should have access to contraception, while parents’ consent for their use should not be needed.
The Rationale for Enabling Teens and Representatives of Minorities Access Contraception Without Parental Consent
It can be argued that teens do not need parental approval to use contraceptives. Thus, Zuniga et al. have outlined how the use of contraceptives by teens and minors is critical:
Allowing pharmacists to prescribe contraception could remove some of the obstacles young people face in accessing hormonal birth control. Through pharmacist prescribing services, youth can obtain hormonal contraceptives without visiting a clinic or the presence of a parent, in locations that are accessible in most neighborhoods, and during convenient times when clinical appointments are generally not available such as evenings and weekends. (515)
This claim shows that it is still difficult for some individuals to take the precautions needed to prevent pregnancy. Moreover, Zuniga et al. add that “concerns about privacy may limit the variety of contraceptive methods used by young people” (516). It is predictable that teens will use birth control if they are enabled, as they are willing to prevent unwanted pregnancy (Zuniga et al., 517). However, the opportunity is still limited, and thus, more and more individuals are at risk.
On the other side, it may be considered surprising that the accessibility of contraceptives is still not a law. It is known that every child belonging to minorities at one particular time becomes sexually active and finds it challenging to involve their parents on such issues (Myers and Ladd). Therefore, when they are allowed to use the contraceptive, they will be refraining from unplanned pregnancies. Joyce et al. claim that “approximately 60% of minors say their parents know about their pregnancy and desire to have an abortion” (330). At the same time, the prohibition of access to birth control without the involvement of parents has the opposite effect (Myers). There is rationale to allow both teens and minors to use the contraceptive without their parents’ consent is very genuine and vividly supported by that substantial clarification.
Another substantial reason for allowing minors to take the contraceptive without parental consent is that most of them consider it a method of reducing the cases of abortion. The termination of pregnancy constitutes a significant problem in many nations around the world, and acceptance by the minor to take the birth pills, which are hormonal medications, significantly reduces the number of such cases (Myers and Ladd). However, minorities and teens need adequate knowledge on how to use them. Most of them are likely to refer to killing their unborn children, which increases the teens’ cases of succumbing to death during the abortion process and leads to the deterioration of their health. Therefore, the rise in awareness is a more useful intervention than the prohibition of the use of birth control.
Contraceptives also prevent the children from entering into early motherhood, which denies them the opportunity to continue their learning activities. Confidentiality is also a significant part of the support for minors to use contraceptives. The medical practitioners involved should keep the teens’ activities and not expose them to their parents because if they do, they can complicate things for the teenagers (Barnett et al.). For example, if a minor visits a clinic to buy the birth pills and it includes the presence of parents, the next time, children might apply for unprotected sex since they cannot purchase the medications. As a result, they will go for an abortion or carry an unwanted pregnancy. Therefore, representatives of minorities and teens should be allowed to decide on taking contraceptives, and their parents must not be allowed to interfere with the teens’ decisions.
It is the mandate of parents and the entire society to create awareness of the usefulness of contraceptives. It is non-debatable that teens should take birth control drugs without parental control. However, this should be allowed if only teens are aware of the repercussions of using the products. In the states allowing enaction of law to parents making them in charge of the daily activities of their minors, the rate of abortions has risen (Myers). Teens are supposed to be allowed to make their own or personal decisions on the use of contraceptives. Some of the children who are denied the right to use birth pills travel to other states where the parental laws are bent so that they can undergo abortion exercise. As a result, this leads to death and increased rates of abortion of teens. Therefore, minors should be allowed to use contraceptives without the consent of their parents so that the issues of inter-state abortion minimization are maintained.
Finally, it is not the responsibility of parents to control the use of contraceptives by teens. Ideally, parents should educate teens on the importance of contraceptives and communicate the reasons for preventing early pregnancies. The lack of knowledge on the use of contraceptives culminates in early pregnancies among teens. When the teens get complete responsibility to use birth, they can end up in unprotected sexual practices since they are sure that they are free from getting pregnancies. Therefore, the generation of law is necessary to regulate the rate of minors getting pregnancy contraceptives. Some contraceptives are considered dangerous, especially those planted in their bodies or even injected into their bodies. Furthermore, children should not be allowed to use contraceptives because this can lead to menstruation imbalance in some of them, hence resulting in infertility. Barnett et al. claim that “Confidential care is important because it encourages access to care” (451.e12). It should be supported that in cases when teens get exposed to contraceptives, there must be a responsible person, which may not be one of the parents for confidentiality reasons.
Conclusion
It is possible to conclude that neither representatives of minorities, not teens need parents’ consent to access any forms of contraception or birth control medications. Still, it can be suggested that a responsible adult is involved in consulting before issuing the drugs. In case of an occurrence of adverse medications’ effects, an affected person should be assisted to cope with the consequences. Confidentiality must be regarded, especially by the nurses or the medical officers when they are visited for birth control medications. Parents should also contribute by reducing barriers between them and their children to minimize the number of abortion cases.
Works Cited
Bortoletto, Pietro, et al. “Parental Consent: An Unnecessary Barrier to Adolescent Obstetrical Care.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 219, no. 5, 2018, pp. 451.e1-451.e5.
Joyce, Theodore, et al. “The Impact of Parental Involvement Laws on the Abortion Rate of Minors.” Demography, vol. 57, pp. 323–346.
Myers, Caitlin, and Daniel Ladd. “Did Parental Involvement Laws Grow Teeth? The Effects of State Restrictions on Minors’ Access to Abortion.” Journal of Health Economics, vol. 71, 2020.
Myers, Caitlin. “The Power of Abortion Policy: Reexamining the Effects of Young Women’s Access to Reproductive Control.” Journal of Political Economy, vol. 125, no. 6, 2017, pp. 2178-2224.
Zuniga, Carmela, et al. “Youth Perspectives on Pharmacists’ Provision of Birth Control: Findings From a Focus Group Study.” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 65, no. 4, 2019, pp. 514-519.