Should teens be allowed to obtain birth Control without parental consent?

By Jayshawn Pickett

Should teens be allowed to obtain birth Control without parental consent?

Being a teen and knowing what goes on now a days I do believe that teens should be able to obtain birth control anonymously. Teens don’t want to talk to their family members about sex or the idea of birth control because their parents will assume they are planning on having sex or already have had sex. For me, I wouldn’t want my parents knowing I was sexually active at a young age. Either way I believe that we need protection from unwanted pregnancies so we should be able to obtain birth control without parental consent.

Most parents believe that telling your child to wait until marriage to have sex will keep them from having sex which is very wrong. You should still give them access to condoms and birth control because kids often experiment. If a kid wants to have sex, they should have access to proper contraception without having to tell their parents. Talking to your kids about the idea of sex is very awkward and weird subject to talk about.

Teenagers are becoming more and more sexually active as time progresses, which means birth control should be readily available to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Birth control can be more protection for teens than any other contraceptive. Some teenage girls also use birth control to soothe acne outbreaks, help against menstrual cramps, and also help regulate your period. People don’t understand that birth control has many other uses besides preventing pregnancies.

According to the Affordable Care act that President Obama signed in 2010, private health insurance plans are beginning to offer birth control and other preventative services without copays or deductibles.

WebMD. "Birth Control Center - WebMD." WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/default.htm?names-dropdown=ME (accessed April 29, 2014).

"Teens' Rights to Services & Confidentiality." - Planned Parenthood. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/nyc/teens-rights-services-confidentiality-15235.htm (accessed April 29, 2014).