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Should birth control be available through high schools?

            The United States of America continues to have the highest teen pregnancy rate among all the industrialized nations in the world. Over 1 million teens will become pregnant each year and 80% of these pregnancies are accidental and unwanted. A study by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that more than ½ of 9th- 12th graders are engaging in sexual activity. Of these students, only 40% were using a source of birth control. I feel that these statistics alone are reason enough for forms of birth control to be available in school clinics. .
             Today, actually right now I want each and every one of you to look around. One in every eight girls you see from ages 15-19 will become pregnant this year. About 4 out of every 100 pregnant teenage girls have an abortion. Studies have shown that school birth control programs have reduced the embarrassment of teens by eliminating the cost and improving access. With the decrease in embarrassment, the number of condoms obtained by the student body increased. An average of 4 condoms were acquired per student during the academic year. Studies have also shown that the presence of birth control in clinics was not related to greater sexual activity among students. With the usage of condoms, adolescents well anyone for that matter, are less likely to be exposed to HIV, human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted diseases. HIV alone is the 6th leading cause of death and there are over 20 more STDs that are able to be contracted. ½ of the 40-80 thousand new cases of HIV reported each year are among the people under the age of 25. That is an average of 2 people becoming aware of having HIV every hour of every day. A quarter of the estimated 12 million new cases of STDs per year occur among teens. In Illinois during the year 2000, persons of the ages 10-19 made up 39% of the total reported cases of Chlamydia, 39% of Gonorrhea and 8% of Syphilis.


Essays Related to Should birth control be available through high schools?

1. Birth Control and Teen Pregnancy

When talk is in the air about having birth control distributed in high schools, the argument against it is that it is only encouraging sex between teens and they should know to be abstinent. ... For example, thanks to birth control in schools, teen pregnancy is down twenty-seven percent in New York City. ... All in all, while controversial, I think that giving birth control to high school students is a good idea. ... One way to keep this trend down is by making birth control more available. ... I think the consequence of not giving these materials (teen pregnancy) is more concerning than dis...

  • Word Count: 1691
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Babies Having Babies: Teen Pregnancy

One of the most argued issues about teen pregnancy is whether or not schools should be allowed to teach about and make birth control available to students. ... Another problem is that often times the birth control is not readily available to them. ... According to the article "Availability of Condoms Doesn't Spark Teen Sex" from the May 29, 2003 issue of the Columbus Dispatch; Teenagers at high schools where condoms were available, they were no more likely to have sex. The teens still had sex the same that they were in schools that did not provide birth control. ... This is all the more r...

  • Word Count: 1230
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Teenage Pregnancy

Most teen mothers are less likely to graduate from high school and their kids are often born at low birth weight or experience health and development problems. ... Most Americans support more sex education for teenagers in school, 93 percent believe it should be taught in high school's and 84 percent believe should be taught in middle or junior high school(RTP1). Also many teenagers agree because half of high school students nationwide report that they need basic info on birth control, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. ... Easy and confidential ac...

  • Word Count: 1001
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Benefits of Sex Education in Public Schools

High school sexuality programs benefit teens by teaching then usable skills to prevent pregnancy. ... According to research findings, "school condom availability programs are successful in improving condom use by sexually active teens without encouraging abstinent youth to become sexually active. ... Largely due to sex education programs in America's high schools, teen's birth rates have dropped slowly but steadily from 1991 to 2002. ... With parents not properly teaching their children at home, sexual education has become increasingly urgent in American high schools. ... Young p...

  • Word Count: 765
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Ramifications of Teenage Pregnancy

Jessica ____________ was a typical sophomore girl at Harman High School. ... Therefore, Jessica and her mother had been gone through hard times. ... One of the rules was not to have boyfriend until she entered high school. ... She is now high school drop out with no job. ... Some people also argue that if there was more birth control/sex education in the schools, there would be fewer pregnancies. ...

  • Word Count: 2627
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Students, Sex and Pregnancy

Even if they use condoms, or use birth control, there is always a chance of conceiving a child. ... During the year of 2003, in the high schools of Massachusetts, students took a survey about condom availability. ... Condom availability in schools is a great idea to set forth. ... Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's web site, The Importance of Prevention, (quoted in McKee, Ragsdale, Southward 99) states that "teen pregnancy and childbearing bring substantial social and economic costs through immediate and long-term impacts on teen parents and their children." If a teen ...

  • Word Count: 1248
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Preventing Teenage Pregnancy

Only 28 percent of the abused girls used birth control the first time they engaged in intercourse compared to 74 percent of girls in the general population (Malika Saada Saar 1). ... In order for adolescents to gain accurate and helpful information about contraception and birth control they must partake in comprehensive sex education programs in school rather than abstinence-only ones. ... The NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation states that teens must have access to confidential and affordable reproductive health services as well as after school programs, which reduce the amount of risky beha...

  • Word Count: 1645
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. condoms

I walked out later, comfortable and more knowledgeable than ever, as knowledgeable as I should have been eighth grade in junior high school. ... When I was in junior high school, five years ago, students had sex. ... Nothing can change that decision, and if condoms were available for free in high school, when most people have sex for the first time, then it will more than likely be a safe decision. ... Funded programs are prohibited from directly discussing birth control. ... Sexuality education should encourage students to delay sexual intercourse, however, instruction and lessons on birth...

  • Word Count: 1022
  • Approx Pages: 4

9. Points About Education

Health includes knowledge of birth control/contraception, menstrual cycles, and overall hygiene. ... This is due to the fact of the glorifying of alcohol use through media. ... Students concerns about safety and violence peak at the eight-grade because high school is next year (or often times is high school). This fear is caused by the recent events such as Columbine High School or just the fact of acceptance (bullies). This suggests that middle schools (or often times high schools) are the least safe, due to easy gun access or other weapons. ...

  • Word Count: 2352
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: High School

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