Most of us know MTV’s show “Teen Mom” in which girls
show their lives as young mothers. It is obvious that these girls did not have
the chance to opt for any contraception method after having unprotected sex,
but this is a reality that is going be changed very soon, and this is one of
the first steps.
New York City’s Department of Education presented
their new educational program in which sexually active girls, as young as 14
years old, will have the chance to get the “Plan B” emergency contraception
without her parents’ consent. There are 13 public high schools that will
participate in this program, and parents already know how their daughters can
opt for these pills.
Besides having oral and injectable contraceptives,
school nurses will have the morning-after pills which are going to be given to
girls without their parents knowing. This program is very similar to New York
City’s high schools giving free condoms to sexually active teens as part of
their Sexual Education Program.
In the United States, the “Plan B” contraception can be sold legally without a doctor's prescription,
but those girls under age 18 still need one. Under this program, teens can tell
the school nurse they have had unprotected sex. Then they will be tested to
know whether they are already pregnant or not: if the test is negative, they
will be given the morning-after pill that prevents pregnancy for up 72 hours
after having unprotected sex.
About 7,000 teens get pregnant before reaching the
age of 17, and more than half of them decided to get an abortion. The Department
of Health stated that teen pregnancy is the first reason why girls drop out of
school. Also, it was shown that only half of teen mothers graduate from high school,
and less than five percent get a college degree before turning 30 years old.
Some people claim that this initiative will provide
teens with the opportunity to decide over their future, and therefore it will
make them grow up. Other groups claim that this program will lead to more unprotected
sex among teenagers and an increase in the number of abortions made by young
girls.
What side do you support? Do you think that young
girls can make their own decisions, over their body and over a new life? What
about their parents’ consent? Should they know their daughters’ decisions?
