The aim of this study is to scrutinize the effect on the rate of pregnancy with the requirement of parental consent for contraception by teenagers. Teenage pregnancy has declined in recent a year which is viewed as having been brought by changes in teenage behaviors for instance sexual activity as well as the use of contraceptives.
There has been an argument on whether requiring a parent’s approval on contraception before adolescents acquire them is effective in reducing adolescent pregnancy. Despite past efforts to reduce teenage pregnancy, it remains a major challenge, and it is considered a social challenge (Arai & Lisa, 111). It has been argued that no amount of effort will reduce teenage pregnancy if the teens themselves do not protect themselves.”If they can’t take care of themselves, then nobody can. I think there’s maybe enough information for teens about
...preventing teen pregnancy.
It’s our choice, not others to make our choice “(Reichle & Alison L, 185).Teenage pregnancy is related to health complications as well as distress in teenagers. Further research is required to test the efficiency of preventive interventions as well as to thoroughly determine the aspects of the decrease and increase of teenage pregnancy rates. This topic is interesting because it assesses a very delicate issue in the society which one has to weigh all the options before judging either party.
My classmates will as well find this topic interesting as it will leave them in a dilemma. Interventions should be put in place to reduce teenage pregnancy rates. The high teenage pregnancy rates have brought concerns which have encouraged strong interest in developing effective interventions. Consequently, a wide variety of interventions has been pu
into practice in efforts to decrease teenage pregnancy.
Teenage pregnancy has been at a high rate in most of the developed countries. As adolescent sexual activity has become more and more visible, teenage pregnancy has been deemed a social problem in many countries. Adolescent girls can be regarded as a vulnerable population. This group of teenagers is viewed as powerless when it comes to protecting their individual interests owing to their immaturity.
They are as well viewed as demonstrating the emotional vulnerability. The issue about requiring parental consent for teenagers before acquiring contraceptives has been controversial for a long period. Regardless of the devotion of many numerous public resources around the world, health professionals affirm that teenage pregnancy remains one among the leading health issues. Advocates of parental consent affirm that pregnancy rates might go down if teenagers would talk to their parents concerning sexual activities.
On the other hand, opponents argue that the rate of adolescent pregnancy would increase as teenagers would avoid talking to their parents about sexual activities and therefore they would not receive contraception. Teenage pregnancy can result in multidimensional consequence on the teenage mothers as well as the child. Teenagers normally underestimate the disadvantageous effects of teenage pregnancy. However, emotional and physical health in addition to the socioeconomic status of the teenage mothers and their children are at risk.
Studies have indicated that decrease in teenage pregnancy rates has been contributed to by two behaviors which are the use of contraceptives along with reduced sexual activity. Professional associations advocate for the provisions of reproductive health care to teenagers on a confidential basis. The issue of teenagers having to get consent from their parents before
they acquire contraceptives have been regarded a problem by various studies.
They have pointed out that the requirement of parental consent on contraceptives brings more harm than good to the teenagers. Some teenagers have pointed out that they would rather have unprotected sex than have their parent get involved. Other adolescents have specified that they would not use clinics for prescription contraception which means that they would use other alternatives without their parent’s approval.
Some would, for instance, prefer to use condoms which are not 100% protective as they could burst to result in unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Parents wish to be involved in giving their approval before teenagers acquire contraceptives will therefore not stop teenage pregnancy. Sexually active teenagers will continue engaging in sex secretly than have their parent’s consent which could lead to what the parents would have wanted to prevent (teenage pregnancy) because they do not want to disappoint the parents. Most teenagers are usually willing to seek for contraception in privacy. On the other hand, parents wish that the teenage girls would realize that their parents have their greatest interests at heart.
Parental notification requirement for contraception by teenagers is a problem in that it will discourage teens from looking for medical attention for other significant reproductive health services, for instance, being tested and treated for STDs. Teenagers would not want their parents to find out that they engage in sex, but that does not mean that requiring a parent consent will make them stop. In fact, this requirement would lead to increased pregnancies in teenagers as well as the wide spread of STDs for example AIDS as teenagers would be embarrassed
to get attention from family planning clinics where they would be requested for the parent’s approval.
They would rather keep their extremely personal issues to themselves than involve their parents. This might result in more critical health problems later in their lives and will cost the parents a lot more for treatment. Researchers have argued that adolescents should not be restricted from accessing contraception because it is indirectly endangering their health in the name reducing teenage pregnancy which could lead to death (Stanhope et al., 777). Parental approval requirement on contraception from another outlook is a problem in that it could lead to adverse results connected with belated access to medical care on time among adolescents who despise involving their parents in their contraception decisions.
Most sexually active teens dread as much as possible to have a discussion on contraception with their parents. Mandatory laws for parental approval on contraception could deter such teens from accessing contraceptives as they would be asked for the parent’s permission. In cases when they get pregnant, the teenagers could be tempted to go for an abortion because they do not want to disgrace their families or stress their parents. This could be even more dangerous for their health as it could result in complications or even cause death. On the other hand, teenagers who get pregnant and do not wish to carry out an abortion could decide to give birth.
As a result, birth rates in adolescents could increase as teens possibly will not be ready to involve their parents before acquiring contraceptives. Parents usually find out when it is too late to adjust the situation. Opponents argue that parental consent requirement
is not necessary as there is no proof to suggest that policies ordering parental involvement in adolescent’s decision to obtain contraception in way boost family communication.
People have different opinions on teenage pregnancy. Pregnancy is usually considered ethically a practice of people who are married. Teenagers who get pregnant are regarded as morally wrong in many societies. At times, the parents of such teens are blamed and accused of failing in bringing up their teenagers the right way, and they usually have to deal with the accusations. Marriage between two teenagers gives them the rights as well as privileges of adults; however an unmarried pregnant teenager does not own such rights.
Some people are of the opinion that poverty contributes to teenage pregnancy (Fleisher et al., 1644). They argue that teenage girls who come from poor families have a higher risk of becoming pregnant as compared to teenage girls coming from wealthy families. Teenage girls from disadvantaged areas usually have low expectations about their lives. This in a way makes them gullible because unlike those from well-off families they lack resources which could allow them to live as comfortable as they would fancy. Other people’s opinion is that teenagers should be allowed to access contraception without the involvement of their parents so that teenage pregnancy rates are reduced.
They suggest that as teens continue to access contraception, they should be educated on the correct use of the contraceptives as well as inform adolescents who do not use contraceptives about them. For teenage pregnancies to be reduced, they argue that this trend ought to be followed. On the other hand, there is a public opinion which opposes the above
opinion. This group proposes that educating teenagers about the use of contraceptives will encourage sexual activity and might increase the rate of pregnancy among the teenagers.
They argue that teens would engage more in sex because they are aware that there is a way out ignoring the fact that some of the contraceptives could fail them and could result in pregnancy even if they had used them. There is a different opinion from people which advocates for abstinence. They propose that teenagers should keep off sex until they become of age to make important decisions like engaging in sex. They also indicate that if teenagers do not abstain, engaging in sex could lead to making their lives miserable later in that firstly they would drop out of school to cater for the babies. If they do not get more education from when they give birth, it is argued that they would never get good jobs.
Therefore, they would struggle to earn a living which makes their lives impossible. This group argues that the only genuine solution to teenage pregnancy is for them to abstain. However, research has not been clear regarding the effectiveness of abstaining because some studies have supported the effectiveness while others have opposed. There is a different public opinion which is that parental consent on teenage contraception would reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy as teens would be informed about the consequence of having sex. They argue that parents are in a better position to advice and convince teens not to engage in sexual activities. They suggest that adolescents would not engage in sexual activities if they are aware that their parents would be
involved in giving consent for them to acquire contraception.
My perspective about teenage pregnancy is that it is a big problem because the teen parents face a lot of hardships which are brought about by the pregnancy. Teenagers regard sex as “cool” but what it brings with it is not. Some teenagers engage in it owing to pressure from their peers to be sexually active. The destitution that they face is due to the unpreparedness of the responsibility of raising a child as well as the changes that come with the pregnancy in addition to the interference of things like their education. Some of them are discriminated by their families as well as friends.
The fathers of these children sometimes abandon the teenage mothers who could lead to frustration which in turn could lead to health issues like depression. From my point of view, teenagers should be allowed to acquire contraception without their parent’s consent because requiring the approval discourages them from getting the contraceptives hence they end up being pregnant. Policy makers should be considerate when they are putting mandatory laws for requiring parental consent.
They should weigh the options and try to balance the policies they make such that the teens and their parents will be fairly considered. The teens are helpless in contributing to policies which affect their lives hence those concerned should make reasonable policies which do not deny the teenagers the things that please them as they are human. In my view, teenagers are well aware that use of contraceptives can prevent pregnancy.
However, some teens do not use them because of their individual barriers, for instance, the belief that some contraceptives like condoms
spoil the mood. Most teenagers regard to romance and contraception as incompatible. Teenage girls experience apprehension when starting a discussion with their sexual partner concerning the use birth control. Some teenagers barriers to the use of oral contraception are the belief that if they take them, they will be influenced by them for instance become overweight which they dread.
Some of them do not use contraceptives because they are afraid of getting caught paying for contraceptives in addition to unavailability of sometimes affordable as well as confidential access to contraception. Considering the above issues associated with teenage pregnancy, I think that parental consent should not be mandatory for teens who wish to acquire contraception. This will enhance that teenagers acquire them in privacy which will result in the rate of teenage pregnancy reducing because requiring the consent intends to reduce pregnancies but has proved futile.
Teenage pregnancy could be reduced through various ways. One of the ways is to teach the teenagers about sex education. Such education will help them make healthy decisions regarding their physical relationships. Sex education should be offered in schools as part of the school curriculum. It should cover information on teenagers putting sexual boundaries as well as how to effectively use contraception (Farber & Naomi, 9). This will ensure that students can request for personal counseling about the education which could guide them.
Another way of reducing teenage pregnancy is by supporting mentoring. Older teenagers should be encouraged to act as mentors to their young peers especially because most adults in the society are often uncomfortable broaching the topic regarding sexuality at home. Students in school have the chance to meet in groups
where they could talk about teenage sexuality as well as how to have healthy relationships. Information on education about safe sex by peers is often regarded as having more impact than the one from adults. An additional way of reducing teenage pregnancy is by making condoms widely available. Medical professionals suggest that they should be readily available through different channels.
There should be places where teens access condoms freely for instance from barber shops. Such people as they hand the condoms to their young customers should advice them that it is important to use them to prevent AIDS as well as babies. An additional way of reducing teen pregnancy is through getting the whole society involved. The community through different places for instance churches and beauty shops should be used to spread the word about safe sex. When teenagers get information about sex from everyone, it is easy for them to be convinced (Ehiri & John, 379).
This should include the dangers of engaging in sexual activities before they are of age. A further way of reducing pregnancies in teens is by targeting the teenage boys with sex messages and not just the girls’. Normally the girls are viewed as the vulnerable ones when it comes to sex because they are the ones who get pregnant. It should be recognized that conversations about sex are between both parties. Therefore, equal weight ought to be put because they boys also have a responsibility. Sex education should be offered to both teenage boys as well as teenage girls.
An extra way of reducing teenage pregnancy is that the federal government ought to fund a nationwide center which should be responsible
for collecting and disseminating information concerning what is effective in preventing teenage pregnancy. This is because little information is accessible regarding the best ways to prevent adolescent pregnancy. States, as well as communities, have no way of knowing the other parties’ effort in reducing the pregnancy. Some private organizations have tried to fill this gap, but it has not paid off without the public resources.
