Birth Control

debate
Taylor Cooper
Mrs. Verdun
AP English IV 2
period

nd

Taylor Cooper
Mrs. Verdub
AP English- 2nd period

Birth Control Debate

In 2012, a total of 305,388 babies were born to girls of the age 19 and under.(Statistic
Brain ,birth control statics) This was only 3 years ago, but today almost every day a teenage girl
finds out they are pregnant. This is one of the main reasons I believe girls should be introduced
and educated on birth control as they enter high school. Women use birth control as a backup
plan just in case something goes wrong during intercourse or some just use it as a security thing
just in case something unexpected happens such as rape. Girls should be on birth control or
introduced to birth control because: birth control is helpful for many reasons, It can help lower
the percentage of teens getting pregnant, and finally I think birth control should be accessible to
all teens. I dont believe it should be served over the counter or that you should have to go to a
doctor just to get on birth control.

Birth control is useful for many reasons. For example, some girls may use birth control to
get rid of those horrible cramps: Studies found that use of birth-control pills cut womens pain
significantly, reducing it on average one step on a scale of pain for example, going from
severe to moderate for 1 in 3 women. Women on the pill also needed less pain medication

during their periods.(Time Inc., Maria Szalavitz) Other women may only be using it as a
backup plan in case something goes wrong, they just want to be reassured that a baby wont be
popping about in 9 months. Birth Control comes in many different forms, it all depends on what
you prefer. The different kinds of birth control are; the pill (very common), the shot, the patch
(which I use), and nuvaring (which is inserted inside the uterus). A condom is also considered a
form a birth control because it prevents pregnancy.

Birth control can help with a lot more things than people think. There is a huge rape rate
in the United States and young girls are being attacked not only by strangers but family
members. Studies show that girls are 18% more likely to be raped by someone they know rather
than a stranger (The Hathor Legacy). Although birth control doesnt help prevent stds, it will
help prevent the pregnancy. How many girls want to carry their attackers baby? None right? So
instead of having 2 burdens on your back, you truly only have to be worried about 1 and
hopefully it works out in your favor.

Although birth control is pretty straight forward, there are many misconceptions by
people. Some believe birth control messes up their chances of having babies, which is
completely false. With a few notable exceptions, immediately after you stop using birth control,
your fertility will go right back to what it was destined to be, (Paul Blumenthal, MD, professor
of OBGYN at Johns Hopkins) Your chances of having a baby wont be as strong as when you
started birth control, but that is only because as you get older your chances of having a baby
becomes less and less over the years.

Another misconceptions is that, the new forms of birth control arent as effective as the
older forms. According to Minkin, while some studies have shown a slightly higher risk of
blood clots in women taking newer forms of birth control, the increase is extremely low and still
much lower than your risk of developing a clot while pregnant, says Minkin.( Birth Control
Myths, Casey Gueren)

In the United States the teen pregnancy rate increases every year. They have produced
shows such as teen mom and 16 and pregnant basically advertising that you can get paid for your
pregnancy and get plenty of publicity. I dont think the shows really show the truth on how
actually hard it is to care for a baby while youre still a baby yourself. They show parents putting
in more effort with the baby than the actual parents. Where as in the real world, youre really on
your own. Just like the old saying, you made your bed now lay in it. Girls only see whats in the
tv and social networks believing that if they get pregnant its not a big deal, but it really is
Believe it or not putting your teen on birth control is more helpful than you think. Educating
them on stds and pregnancy.

Birth control can help lower the chances of your teen getting pregnancy and can help
lower our pregnancy rate in the United States. Girls should be introduced to birth control during
the time they enter high school. Around that time, they are seeing and experiencing a lot of
different hormones and they may not know how to accept them and handle them. Girls also start
their menstrual during that time, so theres a lot of emotions running through their systems. High
school boys are a lot more temptation than middle school boys. Some young girls are willing to

go the extra mile to impress a boy. During their teen years is when most of the feelings and
curiosity start to build up, so I think this would be the best time to have the talk with not only
your daughter but your son. Boys are just as responsible for a pregnancy as a girl is, but they are
not held responsible for their actions. The media is truly the problems. They are so convinced on
exploiting young girls and making money, instead of influencing them and inspire them to go a
different way. Movies like the pregnancy pact. All this movies does and show teenage girls who
all get pregnant together. Nothing about the struggle and how the boy usually goes off
somewhere or gives the girl a hard time about being pregnant.

When getting pregnant there are other than keeping the baby such as: adoption and
abortion. Want to know how to avoid all of this? Abstantince or BIRTH CONTROL. Now lets
be realistic abstinence only works about 10% of the time. About half of high school teens are
involved in some type of sexual activity. So why not make it easier on everyone and put your
daughter on birth control. Parents often think that putting their child on birth control that it gives
them the okay to have sex, thats not necessarily true. To me, its saying whenever you decide to
have intercourse I want to make sure you are fully protected in case the unexpected happens.

Why is it easier to buy the morning after pill instead of birth control? Pharmacies should
make birth control more accessible than they are now. Its a coincidence they have a pill for after
a condom fails during sex, but they wont sell you birth control to keep that from happening and
protect you so you wont have to deal with taking the pill and taking that chance if the pill
doesnt work. Why not just allow people to get them as they please? Who is it hurting if people

are protecting themselves from bringing lives into the world that they cant take care of? They
set us up to fail.
There have been big discussions on whether minors should be allowed to get on birth
control with a prescription or parental consent. Some have found that up to 59% of young
women would stop using contraceptives if parental consent were needed ( Parental consent:
required for minor use of birth control, Tamara Rajakariar) This basically a little over half of
teens parents dont know that theyre having sex let alone taking contraceptives , so if they had
to get parental consent they would stop using it or maybe dont use it at all. Whether we approve
or not our young teens are going to engage in some form of sexual activity. They have sex
without your consent, so why not allow them to get contraceptives to protect themselves without
your permission. Some of the parents of our teenagers have been teen moms and dads, so they
should be the ones who know firsthand how hard it is to raise a baby at a young age. I bet if they
could go back they would have educated themselves more on how to be protected when having
sex.
Parents are the biggest hypocrite when it comes to subjects like this. Sex is natural and
when we come to you and ask you how to protect ourselves and not bring a baby into this world,
you get defensive and just shut down. Through the ages 13-19, we are very influential and the
stuff we see in the media has a big effect on us. As much as we preach on abstinence, it doesnt
work that way. A recent study by Columbia University found that these programs actually
contribute to a decline in contraceptive use among teens because they disparage contraception.
This increases risks of teen pregnancy and STDs (Schools should give kids free contraceptive,
Greg Fish) In other words, they try to drill in teens heads that birth control isnt good, but thats
only saying its okay for you to have sex but dont use birth control, which in the process causes

a decrease in contraceptive demand and an increase in pregnancy rates and STDs. Is that really
what you want to teach your kids? Its okay to have a baby and throw away your life plans and
reams because once you have a baby, its no longer YOUR world anymore.

People are also fussing about if birth control should be given out at school. A lot of
schools are getting health building built up to help kids who are less fortunate or low income
school help their kids. They are starting out younger and younger with having sexual intercourse.
I believe they should be giving out contraceptives at school. School is in fact a place they choose
to engage in this sexual activity. "About five out of every 20 seventh-grade students we see tell us
they've had sexual intercourse," said Allison Buchalter (More kids are having sex and theyre
having it younger, Jane Elizabeth and Mackenzie Carpenter. This all goes back to the media and
they see on TV. These are seventh graders were talking about, they dont know about sex and
STDs ad pregnancy, they know what they see on TV and what they hear and they get curious and
want to test it out.
In conclusion, In order to cut down on the pregnancy rates, our kids should be introduced
and allowed to receive birth control. You all were once teens and you know how hard it is to
fight with your hormones and emotions. So to protect us so we wont have any short comings, let
us have contraceptives. Girls should be on birth control or introduced to birth control because:
birth control is helpful for many reasons, It can help lower the percentage of teens getting
pregnant, and finally I think birth control should be accessible to all teens. I dont believe it
should be served over the counter or that you should have to go to a doctor just to get on birth
control. We are young adults and we can make decisions for ourselves, we know what we want

and whats best for us. Nobody wants to have their teenage years thrown away by becoming a
mother or a father

Works Cites page

"The Hathor Legacy." The Hathor Legacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015
Szalavitz, Maia, and Maia Szalavitz. "Birth Control Pills Provide Real
Relieffrom Menstrual Pain | TIME.com." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015
How Birth Control Could Affect Your Fertility." Parenting. N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Mar. 2015.
"10 Birth Control Myths-Debunked!" Womenshealthmag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Mar. 2015.
Parental Consent: Required for Minors Use of Birth Control?" Parental Consent:
Required for Minors Use of Birth Control? N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
More Kids Are Having Sex, and They're Having It Younger." More Kids Are
Having Sex, and They're Having It Younger. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.