Giving Birth Control to Teenagers - Essay Example

Birth control methods are meant to help people plan their family more efficiently. A person has the right and privilege to decide when they want to become parents and to how many babies. Young people in their teenage years are mostly students. This stage is known as intimacy versus isolation in Erick Erickson developmental stages. During this period in life, teenagers are uncertain of almost everything in their life. It is at this time that they are establishing a career path they want to take. Whether or not to give teenagers birth control is debatable. Either way, the decision has consequences. The paper outlines the advantages and disadvantages of availing birth control methods to the teenagers.

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Teenagers who are sexually active and yet not ready to become parents have birth control methods to their rescue. There exist a variety of contraceptives in the market. They can be obtained easily from a health facility or even a chemist and reasonable prices. Using contraceptives helps prevent unplanned pregnancy (Williams 76-81). An increase in newborns whose mothers and parents are not in a position to take care of them is a serious problem to the society. Motherhood damages a young woman, both physically and mentally. Teenage girls who become pregnant are at risk of suffering from various diseases such as anemia, eclampsia endometritis among others. Motherhood requires that one be emotionally mature to be able to take care of a young one. However, the teenage mother is still in the process of identity formation, and it is emotionally consuming to have to care for a child, yet the woman is a child herself. After birth, the woman is at a risk of falling into postnatal depression (Dean 210)

With a baby to take care of, it becomes necessary for a woman to quit or at least postpone their education. In the process, they may quit their career prospects. That is a high risk of living in poverty and isolation from the society.

After getting pregnant a woman has two choices, to keep the pregnancy or abort it. If she opts for abortion, she has to face numerous medical and adverse emotional effects. Using contraceptives can save a teenage all the consequences. Sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS are prevented by some birth control methods like the use of a condom. Birth control methods have a high percentage of effectiveness.

On the other hand, using birth control methods among teenagers is disadvantageous for several reasons. Giving birth control to teenager sends a message of confusion. Every parent wants their child to abstain and become sexually active when they are mature enough to endure the consequences. However, when parents realize that their child is exposed to factors that will make them sexually active, they offer them help with birth control use. The teenager becomes confused (Kelly 64-67). The contradiction that they should not be engaging in sex and yet the parents offer protection against pregnancy is confusing. Actually, it might be the motivation for a child to become sexually active since the parents permits. Some control methods are hormonal. The teenager is going through maturity and has a lot of hormonal imbalances introducing some more might affect the development and pose serious problems in the future when they are ready to become parents.

Giving birth control to teenagers is in most cases a dilemma. Some people, organizations, and institutions support that the birth control to be given to teenagers. However, others seriously object the move for ethical, religious and health reasons. From the arguments proposed by this paper, it is logical to argue that giving birth control to teenagers is advantageous to them and the society at large. The consequences that such a decision bring along are easy to manage and eliminate.

Work Cited

Kelly Mast, Coleen. Love And Life: Parent. 2nd ed. Ignatius Press, 2016. Print.

L. Dean, Anne. Teenage Pregnancy: The Interaction Of Psyche And Culture. Routledge, 2013. Print.

Williams-Wheeler, Dorrie. The Unplanned Pregnancy Book For Teens And College Students. Sparkledoll Productions, 2005. Print.