Abstinence is the Key to Prevention- Ciera Springer

Abstinence is the Key to Prevention

In a study conducted in September 2011, by The Parenthood Foundation, 5,426 teens from 26 countries were surveyed about their sexual activity in the last year. The rates of sexually active teens in the world have risen dramatically since 2009. The United States has the highest sexual activity rate in the developed world with the percent of sexually active teens jumping from 38 percent of in 2009 to 53 percent in 2011. France also had a dramatic increase, more than doubling from 19 percent in 2009 to 40 percent in 2011. Currently, one third of girls will get pregnant before the age of twenty. In each of these cases, a young mother will need to decide to keep it her child, put it up for adoption, or have an abortion. For a young girl, all of these situations will be difficult and require a great deal of thought. The difficulties of being a teen parent, namely dropping out of school and trying to support a child will have huge effects on both the child and mother but also society. If nothing is changed, it is feared that the rate of teen pregnancies will only continue to rise and eventually become culturally acceptable. In order to solve the problem of teen pregnancy, government mandates will require doctors to install chastity devices for males and females at birth as well as require yearly check ups to verify installation and function.

The media including movies, TV shows, and music make it seem culturally acceptable to have sex before marriage. TV shows such as Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant show the lives of teen mothers but often show the stories to work out okay in the end. This is not always the case and leaves the impression in young peoples mind's that getting pregnant is okay. In his book Teenage Pregnancy, Baum describes the situation, “First, attitudes toward sex outside of marriage have changed. The sexual revolution, or whatever one wishes to call it, has made extramarital sex acceptable” (Baum pg.17). Unfortunately, this increase in sexual activity also means more accidental pregnancies. This is a huge dilemma because of the negative effects and consequences introduced into our society. Teen pregnancy effects the education of the population because in most cases pregnant girls will drop out of high school in order to take care of their children. Teenage girls will find it very difficult to find employment without a high school diploma. This puts a huge financial burden on her and her family if she is not able to find a job especially one that will pay enough to support a child. “Children born to teenage parents are more likely to be of low birth-weight and to suffer from inadequate health care, more likely to leave high school without graduating, and more likely to be poor, thus perpetuating a cycle of unrealized potential” (The Casey Foundation, pg.7). The stress and difficulty of this situation can lead to a dysfunctional parent-child relationship, or even child abuse. There are many consequences associated with teen pregnancy that can be easily overlooked. Often the problems that occur after the child is born to a young mother are not highly studied. The child, however, lives with at higher risk for many things, such as engaging in sexual intercourse at a young age as well as having a child as a teen. Some might argue that it is better to have children at a younger age because at that time girls are more fertile in other words more likely to have a healthy baby. Ample fertility of a woman continues in the twenties and early thirties however, which leaves no precedence to say that young, immature teenagers should have children before they are ready to adequately take care of them just because of fertility.

Teen pregnancy and abortion rates have been higher in the last few years. In the last report completed by the Guttmacher Institute there was a 3 percent increase in teen pregnancies and a 1 percent increase in number of teen abortions. As the rates of teen pregnancy rise so does the cost to taxpayers for healthcare and child welfare. In survey released by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, it was shown that in 2008, taxpayers spent 10.9 billion dollars in cost for teen parents. “Nearly 80 percent of teen mothers eventually go on welfare. According to Child Trends, more than 75 percent of all unmarried teen mothers went on welfare within the first 5 years of the birth of their first child” (The Casey Foundation, pg. 13). It is easy to see how many taxpayer dollars are spent on teen pregnancies. Teenagers who have not even gradated high school and are not financially stable have no way of successfully caring for a child on their own.

As stated previously, more teens have been engaging in pre-marital sex than ever before, however the demographics of those teens is very interesting. A shocking statistic shows that most of the increases in teen pregnancy rates have been caused by teens under the age of fifteen. The reason being, at that age it is more difficult to get contraception. In his book Teenage Pregnancy, Jay Baum describes, “It is harder for younger teens to access contraceptives making more young teens get pregnant than older teens over the age of fifteen” (Baum pg. 21). It is startling to think that now more than ever girls under the age of fifteen have been getting pregnant. A girl’s life had barely begun at that young age and it is unsettling to think that now the next eighteen years of her life will be dedicated to a child. A young girl will not experience the rest of her childhood and teenage experiences, which is an unfortunate thing. In the book Premarital Sex in America, Meredith, a 21 year old is interviewed about her opinions on teen pregnancy, “People don’t realize…that your life changes when they have kids…When you have a kid, it’s all downhill from there, if your too young. [In what ways?] Oh man, it’s just, you don’t get to live your life. You have to worry about somebody else…so if your not mature enough…it’s not a good situation” (Regnerus & Uecker, pg. 186). This shows how much a child being born can affect a young girls life forever. She will have a whole new set of responsibilities once her child is born and will no longer have the freedoms and carefree attitude of most teenagers, which can be very stressful and overwhelming.

Some women who in fact had children in their teens may disagree that teen pregnancy is not a problem, however, it is hard to deny the hardships of being a mother at a young age. It is very common for teen mothers to have anxiety and even cope with depression. “The adolescent has had social and emotional growth interrupted at a critical point. She was experiencing alienation, disenchantment, and unrest before the crisis of pregnancy occurred. There has been a felt rejection by her parents, and the resultant unfulfilled dependency needs remain an emotional void which must be fulfilled…”(Bolton, pg. 211). This anxiety and depression can be due an internal struggle of teen mother of whether to love the child she is carrying or be upset that this may have taken away from her normal teenage experiences. Teen mothers are also more likely to drink or smoke while pregnant which can lead to many complications during childbirth and for the child’s development. The teen mothers who disagree may argue that everything worked out and their child is doing well, but the pressures and stresses of taking care of a child as just a young girl, cannot be overlooked.

The solution to stop teen pregnancy is abstinence. This will be possible by the installation and use of chastity devices on both females and males. These devices will make sexual intercourse impossible ensuring that all teenagers remain abstinent. A doctor will install the chastity devices on both females and males at birth. The devices will be equipped with powerful magnets. The female and male devices will be opposite charges to repel and reject another device. The devise will not be invasive and will not prevent the person from normal activities. The devices will remain on a person from birth until it can be removed at the age of 23 if the person is married, otherwise it can be removed at the age of 25.

Human rights activists will argue that these devices will take away human rights. Many would disagree with this solution because it takes away a person’s rights to do with their own body as they wish. The right to control ones own body would be broken by this solution. Although it is true human rights would be taken away, it would only be for a very small portion of a person’s life. It is undesirable that a person’s human rights would be taken away, but the prevention of teen pregnancy would greatly over rule the issues of not having human rights. It will also show the youth the value and responsibility they must take along with human rights. It will teach the youth helpful lessons while preventing pregnancy.

The government first needs to make the laws to require all males and females to have a chastity device installed at birth, and to have regular check ups performed by a medical professional. Once these laws have been passed, the abstinence movement will be easy to follow. Although many will disagree with these devices being installed on their child, it will be mandatory for and birth in a hospital. The devices will be installed at birth so that a child will be accustomed to it growing up, they will not know it is not normal to the human body. The devices will not affect any daily activity and will not be changed by growth. To ensure that these devices will stay in place and functioning, every teen will need to have their device checked annually by a medical professional. These check ups will check to make sure the device is still in place and functioning. It will also check for any modifications or changes to the device that could alter the functioning ability. The government will fashion laws to require the annual check-up of each devise. Additionally, they will regulate the punishment of not complying with the chastity laws. This will not be very expensive to implement. The only cost would be the chastity devices. The doctors who perform the inspections will be advised to conduct these checkups during a patient’s annual physical exam, this will be efficient and easy for all teens to follow.

If a person has a child at home and does not comply with the law to have a device installed, then a doctor, who may be performing a physical exam, which are required for school, will eventually discover it. There will also be fines and punishment for those who do not comply, or tamper with or remove the device. This will make abstinence possible for teens, completely preventing teen pregnancy. It will also dramatically slow the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. The cost of this movement will be the price of the chastity belts for all babies. Other than that, the doctors are already paid for a physical exam. There is just one more requirement to inspect. This prevents having to pay for other officials to maintain the installation of the chastity devices.

Overall, this movement will help our society greatly. Without teen pregnancies, all teens will be able to finish high school and possibly go to college following. It will slow if not stop the spread of STDs and most of all prevent pre-marital sex and teen pregnancies. This will ensure that all teens can have the proper and full teenage experience and not have to worry about a child of their own until the time is appropriate. Stopping teen pregnancy will have so many benefits to our society. First off, it will give the chance to all teens to finish high school uninterrupted which makes it also more likely for teens to complete college as well. The 10.9 billion dollars that goes toward welfare and healthcare for teen mothers will no longer be an issue, and instead that money can be used toward educational programs. Teens might resist the movement in the present time, but in the future they will come to realize how dramatically abstinence can change our world for the better.

Works Cited

Baum, Daniel Jay. Teenage Pregnancy. New York: Beaufort, 1980. Print.

Bolton, Frank G. The Pregnant Adolescent: Problems of Premature Parenthood. Comp. S. P. Kane. Vol. 100. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1980. Print.

Chilman, Catherine S. Adolescent Sexuality in a Changing American Society: Social and Psychological Perspectives for the Human Services Professions. New York: Wiley, 1983. Print.

Males, Mike A. Teenage Sex and Pregnancy: Modern Myths, Unsexy Realities. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010. Print.

Regnerus, Mark, and Jeremy Uecker. Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation. When Teens Have Sex: Issues and Trends. Baltimore, MD (701 St. Paul Street, Baltimore 21202): Foundation, 1998. Print.