by Aliceanna

Created on: March 12, 2008   Last Updated: January 04, 2011

Maybe it's about time for an adult who is autistic to speak out on this issue. Guess what? I am autistic, technically I have AS, which is a high functioning form of autism and I'll be damned if I don't speak my mind on this! Don't feel sorry for me because I do not let this define my life nor do I let it determine how it's going to be lived, I've never let anything define who I am as a person because I AM a human being who has plenty of hurdles that I've jumped over and many more that I've yet to overcome.

Now that I've stepped down from the "high and mighty" pedestal that has accompanied the opening paragraph, birth control for autistic teens is inappropriate, even more so if it's mandatory. The last time I checked, not every autistic teen out there is incapable of understanding the consequences of unprotected sex. I knew the consequences of such when I was only 12, and I chose to arm myself with knowledge by reading any form of information I was able to get my hands on. I asked my parents some questions about this and discussed this with them to an extent. When I became a teenager, I had already planned out what I would do had I become pregnant. That plan was for me to carry the baby to term and give birth, but I would put the baby up for adoption since I was unable to provide for it. Now that I'm older I may be able to provide for a baby mentally and emotionally, however, I'm still searching for a steady job. So that means I'm still unable to provide for one financially. I only had sex once in my life at the age of 14 and loved it, but I made the guy wear a condom because I wasn't ready for motherhood. I also didn't want to take the chance of obtaining an STD from the encounter. I didn't go on birth control then and I never will go on birth control. That's my choice and I'm going to stick by it whether you like it or not.

However, I am very well aware that there are teens who don't have a high functioning form of autism. I realize that I may not speak for all of the people who have a form of autism that is different from what I have. Even then, it should still be left up to the control of either the parent or the autistic individual. Laws are passed to keep all people safe, not a select few. Any law that singles out only a group of people as the ones prohibited from enjoying the same freedoms that the rest of us enjoy because certain people view them as being a "defect" is discriminatory, thus rendering said law unconstitutional.

In closing, birth control for autistic teens is inappropriate since this is apparently more geared towards the interest of those who consider people like me and others out there to be subhuman one way or another because we're different from them. I don't think you would like it if I were to declare that birth control for people out there who are total jerks to be mandatory for my own selfish reasons now would you? I didn't think so. Make sure you give that some thought the next time something like this comes up either in a discussion, by watching the news or reading an article/editorial covering an issue like this.

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