by Kaylan Grimes

Created on: June 01, 2009

Lately in America, there have been far too many people who have let the rising problem of teenage pregnancy go without prevention. Too many people are more concerned with trying to stop teenagers from their actions than taking actions to limit the damages caused by the inevitable. Just as most parents, I am concerned with teaching my children about sex and abstinence, but I am also aware of what I did when I was in High school.

Teenagers, male and female alike go through hormones changes that drive them toward sexual thoughts and actions. Since there is no medication that can prevent these desires, as parents we should be aware of the medications that can be used to prevent more than the damage of a broken heart. Teenage males have the ability to go into a convenience store and purchase condoms in an effort to prevent pregnancy, but teenage girls have to go through their parents to gain access to a more reliable form of protection. It seems unfair that there is no person that a young female can talk with in confidence.

Although there are quite a few teenagers who are open with their parents and are willing to talk about contraception and what to do to prevent things like STDs and pregnancy, a large majority of teenagers would rather use prayer than discuss anything about sex with their parents. In some states, young girls are lucky enough to have a place to go such as Planned Parenthood and other places that have a lower age minimum such as sixteen to receive the protection they need. I cannot imagine there are too many parents who have a desire to see their daughter have a child of her own. Why then are they opposed to the idea of their child being responsible and taking action against it?

Parents have a responsibility to protect their children and to make sure that they are healthy, safe and aware of the potential dangers that the world offers. Even though most parents instill these values and ideas into their children, there are those who do not take the time to make their children aware that sex is designed to cause pregnancy. Some parents take preventative measures and put their children on birth control, but others do not even let the concept cross their minds. This lack of information leads to devastating results.

If schools had the legal right to distribute pregnancy prevention to their students, I believe a lot more teenagers, young women especially, would go to see the nurse or the school counselor and receive the education that is desperately lacking in the school system. Being able to receive treatment and prevention does not teach children that sex is right or to be condoned by any means. The acceptance and practice of sex is established through the students and through the media. It is time that both parents and schools begin to understand that the world has entered into a new kind of morality. If we do not take steps to educate teenagers to prevent teenage pregnancy, it is not our children we should blame for making harmful decisions. It is we as parents for not being responsible enough to teach our children of all the options necessary to protect their lives and the lives of their children

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