Teen Preg an Unplanned Pregnancy Is Traumatic

Teen Preg

An unplanned pregnancy is traumatic for any woman, and especially teenagers who completely unprepared or unwilling to carry a child to term. The United States leads all other developed, wealthy, industrialized nations in prevalence of teen pregnancies: with the UK in a fairly distant second place (Kmietowicz, 2002). About 52 out of every 1000 teenagers aged 15-19 in the United States give birth, compared with less than seven per 1000 teenagers in other countries including Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Korea (Kmietowicz, 2002). Teen pregnancy is a problem because it ruins young lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2012), "only about 50% of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by 22 years of age, versus approximately 90% of women who had not given birth during adolescence." A high rate of high school drop out among teen mothers is not the only reason teen pregnancy is a problem. "The children of teenage mothers are more likely to have lower school achievement and drop out of high school, have more health problems, be incarcerated at some time during adolescence…and face unemployment as a young adult," (CDC, 2012). Teen pregnancy is contributing to income disparity and poverty in the United States and should be viewed as a major public health and social justice concern.

The primary reason for the astoundingly high rates of teen pregnancies and birthrates in the United States is the prudish, repressive social norms. As Kmietowicz (2002) points out, "the United States and the United Kingdom are secretive and embarrassed about contraceptive services." As a result, teenagers are not taught to ask about birth control, are discouraged from talking openly about sex, and wind up taking risks they should not take. There is no excuse for the ignorance that permeates American society; prudish parents must not be permitted to ruin the lives of their children by preventing their access to education, information, products, and services related to healthy sexuality.

Americans cannot afford to listen to religious conservatives and other citizens too prude to allow open, rational, and honest discussions in formal educational environments. "Teen pregnancy accounts for nearly $11 billion per year in costs to U.S. taxpayers for increased health care and foster care, increased incarceration rates among children of teen parents, and lost tax revenue because of lower educational attainment and income among teen mothers," (CDC, 2012). Education and awareness are the primary means of preventing teen pregnancy. As Kmietowicz (2002) points out, other industrialized nations prepare their young people for adolescence by speaking more openly about sexuality. American parents promote ignorance rather than healthy sexual behavior by often blocking access to birth control information and services and protesting proper sex education in schools.

School is the place to teach adolescents about healthy sexual behavior, because parents are no better equipped to address their children's sexuality than they are to teach them calculus. American schools need to improve their sex education curriculum by making it more relevant to young people. Adolescents should not feel ashamed or embarrassed to ask questions; and educators should likewise not feel fearful about addressing reproductive health and sexuality in the classroom.

Similarly, all teenagers should have access to products and services that prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Counseling services should be offered at all middle and high schools, in a way that preserves the anonymity of the student. Moreover, school counselors should offer free condoms in a manner that also protects the anonymity of students. Distribution of condoms is crucial in schools, because teenagers are far more likely to use freely distributed condoms than they are to purchase them in a store. Some students cannot afford to purchase condoms; and others might be too embarrassed to do so. Access to birth control should be universal; and has no bearing on income or ability to pay. Students with religiously conservative parents also should not be penalized for the rest of their lives because of their parents' problems with sexuality. Just as no student should be penalized for a parent's lack of understanding of economics or literature; no student should be penalized for a parent's lack of understanding of human sexuality. In addition to condoms, other methods of birth control should be made available to adolescents at little to no cost. There should be no income barrier to accessing information, products, and services.

Finally, accidents do happen. When a teenager becomes pregnant, she should have at her disposal an arsenal of social support and other resources that will help her make the right choices. A few might actually choose to drop out of school to carry their baby to term. Counselors should try to deter the individual from doing so but in the end, it is up to the individual to make the final choice. A teenage girl should never feel pressured to carry a child to term; and no parents should be allowed to prevent their children from having access to a safe abortion.

The morning after pill and abortion services should both be made available to young people cheaply and anonymously, through the school counselor if possible. Services such as a free shuttle to the clinic may be offered in some cases. Preventing a teenage girl from carrying children to term is critical for the individual and her rights. It is also crucial for public health and social well being, as Americans cannot afford to lose more bright young minds to premature parenthood. Teenagers have their whole lives ahead of them to plan properly for families; but they only have one pass at success in high school and higher education. To fail to talk about pregnancy and its consequences in an open forum does everyone a disservice.