A Minor’s Decision

A Minor’s DecisionIf a minor can make the decision to have sex, then they should be able to be allowed to make their own decision concerning the use of birth control. It is your own body, so only you can decide what happens to it. Even though it’s your child, the parents shouldn’t have a say in whether they want birth control or not because it’s not their decision. A minor can choose to discuss it with their parents if they want to and ask about their opinions on the topic but at the end of the day it is still their decision.

Being a certain age or how mature someone is shouldn’t have a factor in getting birth control. A minor’s use of birth control is their own decision and nobody’s else.

There are so many situations where a minor might not feel comfortable talking with their parents about birth control, parental religious beliefs, abusive situation at home, or just embarrassed or afraid to ask. A minor should be able to see and consult a professional about their sexual concerns and questions.The word minor has many definitions. Minor is a derogatory term for anyone under the age of eighteen, who is not as responsible as somebody over eighteen. Minor is anything lesser, as in size, extent or importance. Minor is having a lower rank, status or position.

Three of the definitions are saying that minors aren’t as equal to adults.In most states anyone under the age of eighteen is a minor but there are three exceptions. In Nebraska and Alabama, a minor is anyone under the age of nineteen while in Mississippi you are considered a minor under the age of twenty-one. If you live in one of these three states, you must wait longer than everybody else to make your own decisions. Some of the states also have

A MINOR’S DECISION2individual laws that you are considered an adult if you are pregnant, emancipated, in jail or married.Birth control is a tool to help prevent pregnancy, also commonly known as contraceptives. The most common type of birth control are the pills, which is a type of medicine that includes hormones. It comes in a pack and is taken once per day. They work by stopping the sperm from merging with an egg and thickens the mucus of the cervix which then proceed to block sperm from swimming towards the egg, while the hormones of the pill stop ovulation. The pill is not just for preventing pregnancy it has other benefits. It can reduce menstrual cramps while it also helps reduce acne, bone thinning, cyst in the ovaries and breast, and iron deficiency. It always helps with your period by either making it, so periods are regular and more easily predictable or to safely skip your period. Even if somebody is on the pill it doesn’t mean they’re having sex, it could mean they are using it to help with their period or other reasons. I had a friend who started using the pill in the ninth grade because she was having problems with her menstrual cycle and didn’t start having sex till later in her life. Other types are birth control are a shot you get every three months, a patch you replace every week or implants like the IUD which can last up to twelve years and the vaginal ring which needs to be replaced every month. Sex is a human development in everybody and a part of everyday life for adults and teenagers. As young adolescents develop, they need to be able to comprehend information concerning sexual and reproductive health. All young people must be able to access any information and the health care services they need, which include birth control. If they want the tools to help prevent pregnancy, then they should be allowed to have it whether they have parental permission or not. In September 2017 it was determine that on average a person would

As of September 2018, most high school students have had sex by the time they were in their senior year. Teens have sex with or without the proper prevention care and there is always going to be that chance of unintentional pregnancy. Teens who end up pregnant have a higher chance of dropping out of school. The children of teen parents are more likely to drop out of high school, have more health problems, face imprisonment as an adolescence or getting pregnant as a teenager themselves. In 2017, a total of 194,377 babies were born to women under the age of nineteen for a birth rate of 18.8 per 1000 women which is a 7% difference from 2016.

The reason for the recent decline in teen pregnancy is unclear but evidence suggest it is because sexually active teens are using birth control over the years. If teens had access to birth control the decline in unwanted pregnancy will continue to grow. Even though the United States teen pregnancy rate has declined in the recent years, it is still one of the highest in the world. When my aunt was thirteen when she had her first sexual experience and ended up pregnant with my cousin. While pregnant she dropped out of high school to have the baby. She eventually went back years later to get her GED. The first couple years she tried to take care of him but by the time my cousin was in fifth grade she was a recovering alcoholic who was about to get kicked out of another apartment and his father was in prison, where he has been for the last 18 years.

She decided to hand over guardianship of him to her mother, his grandmother who has been taking care of him ever since. Some people might say that she did it for him, that she was giving him a better life but, she did it so that he was no longer her responsibility, he wasn’t considered a priority to her and she had better things to do then take care of her kid. The first half of my cousin’s life and who his parents were played a factor into the person he is now, which in my opinion isn’t that great. I love my cousin but if my aunt had access to birth control things

In every state anyone including teenagers can buy condoms which are the contraceptive most teens use for their first time. Health clinics like Plan Parenthood even give out condoms for free. If somebody uses condoms perfectly every time, they have intercourse they are 98% effective for preventing pregnancy but let’s be real humans aren’t perfect, so in real life they are only 85% effective. That means out of a hundred people who only use condoms as their contraceptive, fifteen of them will get pregnant each year.

There is always the possibility that something could happen to the condom during sex, so it is always safer to have a backup plan. When using a condom and birth control at the same time there is a better chance at preventing not only pregnancy but sexually transmitted diseases. However, the use of condoms has declined over the years for many reasons and the use of another type of birth control is recommended. Being the second child of my parents, I was an unexpected blessing from a broken condom. In over half the states’, minors don’t need parent’s permission to obtain a prescription for birth control. In Wyoming the state funds a statewide program that gives teenagers access to contraceptives and Georgia spells it out in their law.

In Oregon and Montana, you don’t need parent permission, but a doctor can tell your parents about the prescription. While North Dakota, Nebraska and Wisconsin don’t specifically state if you need permission or not. There are those states that have certain requirements for a minor to have to be able to obtain a prescription without their parents’ permission. In Texas, Utah, Missouri and Vermont you can get a prescription if you are married. In West Virginia the only expectations are if you are married or demonstrates maturity. In Oklahoma and New Jersey a person must be either married or have ever been pregnant or certainly pregnant. In Hawaii you need to be over fourteen and in Florida

A MINOR’S DECISION5you need to be either married, have certain health reasons and are or have ever been pregnant. In Alabama and Arkansas, you need to be either older than fourteen, a high school graduate, married, a parent and are or have been pregnant. In Mississippi the only exceptions are if you are married, a parent or a specified professional gives you a referral. So, you can only get birth control after you already been pregnant even though it could have been avoided. It shouldn’t matter if you meet any of those conditions or not, if you want a prescription you should be allowed to get one.

Over the past thirty years, the states have expanded a minor’s authority to consent to health care which includes sexual activities.Some are the reasons why a minor should be allowed to use birth control are because using birth control is always better than condoms. Birth control isn’t always used during sexual intercourse, it has other purposes. The use of birth control has helped decline the amount of unintentional teen pregnancies over the years and will continue to help decline the rating. Over half the United States it is legally allowed for a minor to get birth control without their parents’ permission. Let’s face it teens are having sex and they don’t want to end up pregnant so they should be allowed to prevent it. Even though there are many reasons why minors should not have to get their parent’s permission to get a prescription the only reason that matters is that it is a minor’s decision and nobody else’s.

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