Birth Control : Should Teenage Girls Need Parental Consent

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"Each year, almost 615,000 U.S. women aged 15-19 become pregnant," (guttmacher.com).

Also, taken into deep consideration of the society’s poor monetary wealth, some families can’t afford to provide their teenager with the right contraceptives. Some parents can’t pay the doctor’s bill to go put their daughter on birth control. This problem should be fix because teenagers who actually want to protect themselves from this situation should be able to do so with little to no cost. "Millions of U.S. women rely on private insurance coverage to help them afford contraceptive services and supplies." (guttmacher.org). Yes, these teenagers can have them make an appointment to go visit a gonocologist, but what is the parent is absent in the teenagers life? In this case, the teenager would have a hard time getting birth control with little to no cost.

However, some people may try to go against the reasoning that teenage girls should be able to receive birth control without parental consent because teenagers would take advantage and find a way to abuse what they are given. What the opposing side doesn’t think about is at least the teenagers that want help are given an opportunity to receive it and be mature. I look at it as I would much rather let the adolescence have a choice to be protected rather than not being able to get the help at all. Another reason some people may try to go against this idea is due to the fact that some people believe birth control is a major health risk. However, getting pregnant at an early age when a females body is not fully ready for pregnancy can lead to major health risks, too. Also, Taylor states "[the pill] has been shown to protect women against the development of breasts, ovarian, and endometrial cancer (1630).

In conclusion, teenage girls should be allowed to receive birth control without parental consent because this is a pivotal factor in preventing pregnancy. Teenagers should be able to choose what they want in their life and whether or not they want to become a parent as stated in the article Challenges to the Federal Contraceptive coverage Rule, "Access to contraception is crucial for women to be able to decide whether and when to become a parent, which in turn allows them to participate equally in society," (aclu.org). Also, it empowers young teenagers to learn responsibilities and they might seek education on their sexual health. Also, some parents fail to communicate with their teen due to lack of parental relationships with the child. This may make a difference if teenagers are entitled to receiving birth control without parental control.

Works Cited

Starrs, Ann M. "Guttmacher Institute". 1996. www.guttmacher.org. Web. 15 June 2015

Taylor, Carol R. "Fundamentals of Nursing". Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &

Wilkins, 2011.

Herman, Susan H. "Challenges to the Federal Contraceptive coverage Rule". 2003.

www.aclu.org. Web. 15 June 2015