Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In my paper, it states that in almost every state within the United States many sexually active teenagers are able to get different types of contraceptives to help protect themselves against many different sexually transmitted diseases and having an unplanned teen pregnancy and they do not need their parent’s consent to obtain them. I also state that lawmakers within these states want to take away teens right to protect themselves but imposing laws that teenagers need to get parents consent before obtaining contraceptives.

Even though a teen might be denied contraceptives they will not stop them from engaging in sexual activities and they will end up turning away from the services that can help them and this can also lead to a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers and a rise in unplanned teen pregnancies.

With teenagers already being at high risk for these in the United States, imposing these laws can only cause more harm than good and it also violates a teens rights and can cause an annulment of any public health policies that have been made in the United States. Sexually active teenagers all over the United States are trying to get contraceptives to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and having an unplanned teen pregnancy and can usually succeed even if they do not obtain a parents consent. Although many lawmakers want to implement laws in certain states to take away a teens right to obtain the contraceptives they so desperately need. I believe that teens should have access to contraceptives at any age with or without parents consent.

The proposals that certain lawmakers want to impose end up putting more teenagers at more risk. Certain studies have shown that preventing sexual active teenagers from obtaining contraceptives does not stop them from having sex and enstating these laws will just make teenagers more afraid to get the services that they need to protect themselves from diseases that can affect them for the rest of their life and it will end up leading to higher rates of unplanned teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases among these sexually active teenagers. The common belief is that if a teen has easy access to contraceptives this, in turn, will encourage them to become even more sexually active. They believe that teenagers must first obtain consent from a parent although there is a lot of research has shown that teenagers tend to contradict this theory. Studies have shown that many teenage girls in the United States have already been sexually active for about two years prior to trying to obtain contraceptives from a family planning provider.

Again, I believe implementing these laws would only cause a bigger risk among teens and also would have no effect on how sexually active teenagers are. If these laws are imposed that will be putting sexually active teenagers lives at more risk. In a study forty seven out of hundred sexually active teenage girls said they would stop trying to get contraceptives if they were not able to get them without a parents consent with another three out of twenty-five stating they would stop using any type of health care service altogether. I believe if that happens they would stop getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases which can lead to many of them getting a disease that will affect them the rest of the life. In a reported study many sexually active teenage girls have been known to have the highest rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia in the United States. In a recent study, it was stated that the huge factor for teenagers not going to get the health care services they need was due to their lack of confidentiality.

With sexually active teenagers already being a high-risk population, it has been stated that over fifty percent of all the new HIV infections in the U.S. happen within the adolescent population. There is so much more than just receiving contraceptives they also miss out on screening and treatments for many types of sexually transmitted diseases, gynecological exams, and any other major health care check-ups that they might need in their young adult life. Every year alone three million sexually active teenagers in the United States ends up contracting a sexually transmitted disease and when left untreated these diseases can have lifelong consequences. Not only are sexually active teenagers contracting many sexually transmitted diseases but over eight thousand teenagers will get pregnant every year and two out of five girls end up getting pregnant before the age of twenty. Preventing sexually active teenagers from obtaining the contraceptives that they need will just end up increasing these numbers with teens chances of becoming pregnant in one year increasing to ninety percent because they do not have access to contraceptives that they need. Many different medical groups are opposing these laws that would prevent a sexually active teenager from getting contractors without parents consent.

Top medical organizations within the United States like the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Public Health Association, and the Society for Adolescent Medicine. They want to stop these laws that would require teens to involve a parent because many medical experts caution that if sexually active teenagers wait to gain consent from a parent they will not get the health care they need. Many of these different types of organizations have been very vocal with many efforts to implement parental notification requirement with the different federally funded type of programs. Many experts had explained these risks in a recent letter that had written to Congress. The following was taken from the letter; “Most teens seeking services at [federally funded programs] are already sexually active.

Mandating parental involvement is likely to discourage many teens from seeking family planning services, placing them at an increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies. Studies indicate that one of the major causes of delay by adolescents in seeking contraception is fear of parental discovery and that many would avoid seeking services altogether if parental involvement were required.” Not only does not letting sexually active teenagers not have access to the contraceptives they need without ca parents consent put them at risk but it violates many rights that teens have. The United States Constitution was put in place to not only protect an adults rights but it also protects a teenagers right to privacy in obtaining contraceptives on their own. As stated in Carey v. Population Services International, the Supreme Court had relied on minors’ privacy rights to overrule a New York law that banned the sale of contraceptives to young adults under the age of sixteen with the court concluding that “right to privacy in connection with decisions affecting procreation extends to minors as well as adults.” Almost every state has passed laws enabling teenagers to obtain care for sexually transmitted diseases without providing any type of parental consent and most have had legal preparatory measures ensuring private access to contraceptives.

If we force parental involvement this can cause an alarming annulment of many public health policies that have been put in place the United States. These types of laws are trying to mandate that in order to have a health family communication is to make sure sexual active teenagers obtain parents consent before obtaining contraceptives. Many federally funded health care providers already encourage sexually active teenagers to talk about their health care concerns with their parents but they should not be able to make decisions on the teenager’s life. Many sexually active teenagers will not get the contraceptive then need because of some fear of letting their parents know they are sexually active with lead to parents abandonment or abuse. Many teenagers do not have a caring or even a responsible parent o turn to or help them get the care they need. Preventing teenagers from getting the contraction they need will not change families and make them more healthy it will just end with more and more teenagers having unsafe sex and cause more harm than good. Preventing sexually active teenagers from getting contraceptive without a parents consent puts them at a huge risk. I believe that all teens should have access to contraceptives at any age with or without parents consent. Most teenagers who are wanting to get contraceptive are usually already sexually active.

If they are able to get the health care services that they need they would not only benefit from the obtaining contraceptives but be able to have screening done for sexually transmitted diseases and receive lots of different types of education about other reproductive health concerns. This could prevent the already huge rise of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned teen pregnancies among adolescents in the United States. With many different medical groups in support if not imposing these laws and having many medical experts opinion we can help sexually active teenagers get the help they need. Many different lawmakers have attempted to impose parental consent but end up have a huge conflict with a minor’s constitutional right to privacy and oppose health policies in the United States. I strongly believe that sexually active teenagers should have access to contraceptives at any age with or without parents consent in order to prevent any risk to themselves with violating their rights as a person.

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