Contraceptives Without Parents

Contraceptives without Parents’ Consent

Should teenagers be required to get their parents permission to obtain birth control information and contraceptives? Teen should be able to get the information and the contraceptives because they should be able to make their own decisions. It is important for the young teen to have access to information on contraceptives, have privacy to get these on his or her own, the prevent pregnancies and lesson the number of abortions.

Right to Privacy

Teens should have the right to privacy of getting their own birth control from the doctor. Amy (2002) from feminist.com says, "If we put barriers in the way of teenagers--such as parental consent for birth control--then they will simply take greater risks rather than stop having sex" (p.1). Some teens do not want to tell their parents that they want to get on the pill or have the shot. Teens are so afraid of what their parents are going to think, so their not caring what they are doing and how their doing it. Most teens want to take the pill or the shot for acne or menstrual problems, but, still, some parents feel it is against their religion, so they do not want their parents to know about it. There are many places that it can be accessed. Planned Parenthood has many options for teens without needing to have an exam first. Planned Parenthood says,

All teens are welcome at our health centers, no matter how old you are, your ability to pay, or your immigration status. It also says, "We offer sexual/reproductive health check-ups for females and males. We can get you started on hormonal birth control methods (pills, shot, patch, and ring) without needing to have an exam first. We also encourage you to use condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. You can be tested for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections at any of our centers" (Planned Parenthood p.1).

Everybody should have their right to privacy when it comes to their health and well being. I think that parents should talk to their teens about birth control just to be safe.

Teen pregnancy

Teen pregnancy is at an all time high right now because there are barriers to getting birth control. In an article it says "In Baltimore, a city that has one of the highest rates of teen-age pregnancy in the country, the Laurence G. Paquin School is the only high school for pregnant teen-agers"(DeWitt p. 1). Every person that I graduated with has at least one child. The problem was is they were all scared to ask their parents about birth control because they were young and didn’t want to let them know that they were sexually active. Sometimes also a teen’s parent doesn't