... Mrs. Boyce English 12 Teen pregnancy is a widely debated topic in todays society. Approximately 900,000 teenagers become pregnant in the united states each year before the age of twenty years old (Frick 21). The pregnancy rate for the united states alone for girls aged fifteen through nineteen stands at a eighty four pregnancies per 1000 girls (19). Countries like the United states, Romania, Belarus, and Bulgaria have the highest rates of pregnancy above seventy pregnancies per 1000 young women (19). Teen prenancy is one of the most controversial social topics of our time. Teen pregnancy has continuosly became a problem through the years. In 1950, the right thing to do if pregnancy occurred, was to get married. In 1955, only six percent of caucasian teenage girls were pregnant outside of marriage; today it stands at forty two percent ("The Elkhart Project").The teen birth rate was fifty percent higher in 1957 than it is now ("The Elkhart Project"). In 1992, the federal goverment spent more than thirty four billion dollars on welfare for families begun by teens ("The Elkhart Project"). Overly accepting attitudes from parents pose a problem in today's outlooks on pregnancy from teenagers. According to several studies, younger siblings of teen parents are two to six times more likely to become pregnant ( Frick 77 ). People say teen pregnancy is happening because eighty three percent of the television programs include sexual content, along with radiostations...
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...“Teen Moms and Adoption” Anthony Arcieri Dr. Bob Baron English 102 July 26th, 2012 OUTLINE History of Adoption A. Origination of Adoption B. Reasons For Adopting Early Pregnancy in the United States A. Teen Pregnancy B. Teen Moms Financial Struggles Emotional Struggles and Suicide Positives of Adoption A. Abortion Alternative B. Better the Quality of Life C. A Second Chance Arcieri 1 Recent studies in the United States have shown that thirty-four percent of teenage women will become pregnant at least once before the age of twenty. Of the 820,000 teen pregnancies each year seventy-nine percent occur out of wedlock, while one third never achieve a high school diploma or GED (Chappuis). It is estimated that about five percent of teen mothers end up putting their child up for adoption. As for the ninety-five percent of those teen moms that choose to raise their child on their own, many of them feel differently about their decisions once they attempt to balance the hardships of raising a child with living the life of a teenager ("Abortion.org"). This can easily lead to added stress levels, an unhealthy environment, and improper care for the child. One and a half percent of teen moms that decide to keep their child do not achieve a college degree before the age of thirty (Chappius) where as on average forty-three percent of adopted children end up in homes where at least one parent already has a college degree...
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...public education, teenage pregnancy has adverse consequences for the parents, the child, and society. Pregnant teens are less likely to complete high school and attend college than teenagers who avoid pregnancy. Many teenage parents live below the poverty level and rely on welfare. The children of teenage parents receive inadequate medical care, have more problems in school, and spend more time in prison than children of adult parents. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (NCPTP) claims that teenage childbearing costs society about $6.9 billion annually; this estimate includes welfare and food stamp benefits, medical care expenses, lost tax revenue (teenage childbearing affects the parents’ work patterns), incarceration expenses, and foster care. In an effort to reduce teenage pregnancy and the problems associated with it, policymakers have recently focused on what causes the widespread poverty and welfare dependence that teen moms experience and have attempted to devise solutions to these problems. Some social critics argue that because pregnancy limits a teenager’s opportunities for education and well-paying jobs, many are forced to accept welfare to support themselves and their children. Only 64 percent of teen moms graduate from high school or earn a general education diploma within two years after they would have graduated compared with 94 percent of teenage girls who do not give birth. This lack of education increases the risk of poverty and welfare dependence...
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...Teen pregnancy has become an issue to teen society today. Teen pregnancy has been rising throughout the years, it hit an all time high in the nineties. In nineteen ninety-one one third of young women in the United States were pregnant as teenagers, eighty percent of these pregnancies were unintentional. The decline in teen pregnancy is said to be because of more effective birth control. (Womanshealthchannel.com teen pregnancy overview, consequences of teenage pregnancy) Teenage mothers have a lower income; eighty percent of teen mothers rely on welfare at some point. Teenage mothers are more likely to drop out of school, and more likely to have been or will be alcoholics and substance abuse. Woman who become pregnant as teens will have a more likely chance to have birthing difficulties and difficulties with there children, such as kids to teen mothers are more likely to have social, emotional, and physical problems. Children of teen mothers have an increased risk of being abused and or neglected. (teenage pregnancy and health risks to the baby, womanshealthchannel.com Boys of teen parents are thirteen percent more likely to be incarcerated later in life, and girls born to teen mothers are twenty percent more likely to be teen mothers themselves. (Teenage pregnancy and health and risks to the baby womanshealthchannel.com) (Nolan, Mary in Just the facts about Teenage pregnancy). Babies that are born to teenage mothers have greater risks such as, being born too early, have...
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...they’re telling them that they are pregnant, parents if you teen has a question about sex don’t assume they are doing it. And teens, if your parents aren’t talking to you about sex don’t assume they don’t care. Teenage pregnancy is 100% preventable. Start talking.” This statement is said at every commercial break and at the end of every episode following, resources that can be utilized if you become or are pregnant and need support services. Hampton effectively convinces her audience that teen pregnancy is a life changing experience through the ABC Family’s hit show the Secret Life of the All American Teenager. As Hampton directed a show that resembles these hardships and possible outcomes of having the responsibility of being a teen parent, she goes in depth about the different events and obstacles that may be faced. Parents are so strict when it comes to their teens becoming sexually active that when they become sexually active they feel that they can’t talk to their parents putting them at a higher risk for teen pregnancy due to the miss use of contraception. Secret Life was created to spread awareness about safe sex and the responsibilities of being sexually active. Throughout this show Hampton demonstrates the difference between adoption, abortion, and miscarriage. By having each represented in an episode and having different characters throughout the show act these situations out. Also showing the different effects it has on the girl, significant other and family. Most...
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...TEEN PREGNANCY Half of the teen girls aged fifteen to nineteen who became pregnant were not using any method of birth control. Among those, thirty-one per cent said “they did not think they could get pregnant at the time” (Chicago Tribune 2012). Teen pregnancy makes the lives of teens and their parents more troublesome and crushes their dreams of a great future. Pregnancy should happen when you are prepared for it. Parents usually have high expectations their children. When their child becomes pregnant as a teen, their expectations are not met and their life is full of disappointment. The expenses of a baby are extremely high, so many of the teens parents have to help financially. Pregnancy is one of the most pivotal moments of a woman’s life but not when you are young with a bright future ahead. The stress of pregnancy, revelation of pregnancy to parents and friends, and moving on despite the shame and worry, can be nerve-racking. Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school (.only one-third of the teens receive a high school diploma). Teen pregnancy presents a challenge; so many pregnant teens today feel empty, betrayed, and lost (Today’s Pregnant Teen march 01 2007). Teen pregnancy can be risky to unborn babies. Teen pregnancy results in underweight babies due to poor eating habits. Many teens smoke and drink alcohol, are likely to not receive prenatal care (Today’s Pregnant Teen march 01 2007). Pregnancies which occur often in teens will result in more costly...
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...The most explosive information about our society surfaced recently. In answering a question in Parliament, the Education Minister easily pulled statistics revealing that every year in our small population of 1.3 million, over 2,500 teenage girls become pregnant; the majority of these unfortunate girls drop out of school; by age 19, over 1,000 girls in this country already have four children; and 50 per cent of mothers in Trinidad and Tobago are single parents (Maraj 2014). Furthermore, the solutions to decrease the high levels of pregnancy among teenagers still remain a challenge for Trinidad and Tobago. As a result, it has been destroying the lives of young girls for generations and the rate of these incidents has not changed significantly for the past fifteen years. Consequently, pregnant teenagers should be allowed to continue their education because it is their right to receive an education regardless of gender, ethnic, economic, social or religious background. Teenage pregnancy has risen significantly among secondary school girls in Trinidad and Tobago and is spreading rapidly due to, lack of sex education, absence of parental guidance, as well as ill-treatment. Sex Education is the process of acquiring information and knowledge about the human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, and other aspects of human sexual behaviour. It helps to educate young people about preventing and protecting themselves against abuse, exploitation, unplanned pregnancies...
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...The Effects of Teenage Relationships Different relationships affect teenagers in various ways. Friends impact teenagers almost the same amount as their parents. Teenagers go to their friends for help or to ask questions that they could not ask their parents about. Most of the time their friends give them good advice but then there is the down side when they put pressure on their friends to do something like to smoke, drink, and do drugs. In most cases they tell their friends how to dress and act when around certain people. Love relationships just make it even harder for a teenager to get a good education. Some start to fail in school because they are hanging out with their boyfriend or girlfriend instead of doing their work. Throughout adolescence, teenagers are positively and negatively impacted by several relationships such as friends, family, and love relationships. Friends have a big influence on teenagers because they can say and do many of things to teenagers who think they were friends. They also start rumors and take their friends girlfriend or boyfriend and have them cheat on their friend. Some go out to drink, smoke, or to do drugs just to have fun but some think of driving home and most teenagers do not even make it to their driveways. Some teenagers who are so depressed about their social problems even think about committing suicide. Most start to hurt others turn into “goth’s” by dressing in all black. Many of depressed people show how they feel by dressing differently...
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...Brittany Davis J. Myers Essay #4 Birth Control for Teens We have all heard stories about teenage pregnancies. There are girls that have to drop out of school to take care of their newborn and now get jobs to support their unexpected new family. Then there are the guys who think they need to marry that girl just because she had his baby. Very often that marriage will lead into a divorce because they were rushed into it. Even worse, some men up and leave that girl because he doesn’t want to be tied down with a baby. There are so many controversies with having a baby while in your teens. There are parents raising their children’s baby, too many teens having babies and sometimes more babies directly after, and Television Reality shows such as, Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, making teens think it’s not so bad. When you’re a parent, the last thing you want to hear is your sixteen year old daughter is pregnant. For one, sixteen is nowhere near ready for a baby of their own. That’s the age where you start hanging out with your friends and staying out a little more. That’s also the age where you get your driver’s license. Music cranked up, windows down, hair flowing in the wind, your best girlfriends riding around with you in your new car; so why mess all that up and throw a baby in the mix? There are too many teens having babies in this generation because of unprotected sex. Condoms and birth control are highly effective ways to help prevent unwanted pregnancies to happen. Parents...
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...Victoria Okafor Dr. Stainbrook English 111-121 02 December 2015 Do TV Shows Like 16 and Pregnant Promote or Discourage Teenage Pregnancy? Teenage pregnancy has become a major issue in today’s society for our adolescents. This is a major problem for all who are involved. It creates hurt and a struggle for on the parents, especially for the mother (Gonchar and Schulten). Also for the parent(s) of the teenager this creates struggles for them because more often than not, they end up with the load of caring and looking after the child while the teenage parents are at school or out doing other things that teenagers do. Raising a child as a teenager is not easy. Teen parents are more likely to struggle to deal with parenthood, and the child is more likely to grow up with numerous issues. Every year about 750,000 teenage girls will get pregnant unexpectedly (Gonchar and Schulten). Then society is faced with the question of “Do Television Shows like 16 and Pregnant Promote or Discourage Teenage Pregnancy?” which has caused controversial discussions since the release of the show. There is no way to put the blame of an excess in teenage pregnancy on the creation of television shows such as this. Television media shows do not promote teenage pregnancy because we all know that getting pregnant is a result of one’s personal choices and decisions. Since as early as the 1990s, teenage pregnancy has posed a big problem for the United States society. The United States has the highest rate...
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...(Jones). In 1950 a lady in her late eighties named, Margaret Sanger, wrote the research for the first human birth control pill, raising up to fifteen thousand dollars for the research for the project (Thompson). The first oral contraceptive was approved by the FDA ten years later (Thompson). In 1972, The Supreme Court legalized the use of birth control for the couples that are married (Thompson). With the expansion of availability, many more versions of birth control were released (Thompson). Birth control should be available to girls 15 and older, should be free and with it being free it would lessen unplanned...
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...Adolescents/Teens Having Sex Teenagers today think sex is something that makes them cool, and it becomes a mental disorder because they think every relationship they are in has to pertain to sex in order for the opposite person to love them and stay with them. Forty-six percent of teenagers from the age of fifteen to nineteen have had sex at least once (FOATSARH). They are not only having sex, but are having more than one sex partner a year (Teen Sex Statistics). Mentally they don’t know all the consequences that are involve in having sex. They are too young and to immature, but it’s not going to stop them, because they have a reputation to keep up with. Not caring that it is giving them the wrong reputation. Having sex is not a game and it can cause many health disorders that can affect a person’s life forever, but there are treatments available to protect teens from these problems. Sexually transmitted diseases are a major heath disorder can be curable, but it’s possible to get a hold of an incurable one. They can ruin a person’s life forever. Genital herpes can be sneaky, because many people don’t even know they have it. Symptoms can be mild and can be mistaken for insect bites or other skin conditions. People will have outbreaks for the rest of their lives (Genital Herpes). Another most common sexually transmitted disease is Genital Human Papillomavirus. Genital Human Papillomavirus can cause genital warts. It’s also a sexually transmitted disease that...
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...huge struggle for the girl. In many countries, young girls between the ages of seven and fifteen are often married to older men by the force of their families. During this marriage, girls face extreme hardships including the lack of education, emotional adversity, and poor social skills. The emotional and social effects of early marriage are varied, but one of the most common outcomes is the withdrawal of girls from formal education. When a girl reaches the age around ten, her parents have already arranged a wedding for her and have taken her out of school to prepare the girl to be wed and to have children. At the age of ten a girl is not fully matured, nor is she well educated. Education is one of the largest losses to a girl if she is married young. Not having a full education like other children brings many hardships to the girl. Taking a girl away from school to marry and to have children limits her opportunities to develop as an individual. After getting married and having a child, a lot of times the girl will want to go back to school to further her education, but most schools will refuse to take in a girl if she is married or has a child. These girls that now have a family at a young age, have to work to earn a living, but since they are denied an education, they are not qualified for most jobs that are available around them. Not only does a girl lose her education, but she also experiences an emotional adversity. From the point of birth, girls are made to think that...
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...Pregnancy Is Cool?” When a celebrity teen gets pregnant, people wonder how a nice and conscientious teen gets pregnant out of wedlock. In Cathy Gulli’s article “Suddenly Teen Pregnancy Is Cool?” from Maclean’s Magazine published in Canada, Gulli shows the rise in pregnancies of teenage girls from fifteen to seventeen years old. With the movies and television displaying under aged teens getting pregnant makes yesterday’s stigma on teen mothers a “no big deal”. Statistics from both the United Sates and the United Kingdom shows a jump of underage teens getting pregnant in the last three years. With the rise in numbers, more “feminist motherhood movement” supports the efforts of these young teens. From new family structures and society views on greater issues makes these new motherhood teens capable on having both adolescents and motherhood. With all of these factors and many more ways of avoiding getting pregnant there seems to be no real reason for this to be happening. Today’s movies and television shows display teen pregnancy is a part of everyday culture and is not seen as a real issue. As more teens are getting pregnant, it becomes more socially acceptable and the media depicts it as not a big deal. But statistical data is showing a big rise for the first time in fifteen years. The two countries with the highest jump are both the United States and the United Kingdom. In a time, when there are many ways not to get pregnant the numbers are climbing higher and higher. There...
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... There were over 400,000 pregnant American teenagers recorded in 2007. Although the sex rate amongst girls in the United States is not the highest, the teenage birthrate and abortion is still leading in numbers. Blow expresses that many states and parents are backing out of the “abstinence-only education” approach. By moving away from the norm of society, daring actions must be taken to generate a sex education foundation that recognizes the truth and aid to safeguard our children from unsolicited pregnancies or other harmful outcomes. The author concludes that sex education at an early age may be drastic however Americans themselves are unable to approach the sex topic without being awkward, withdrawn or chuckling. As an experiment, Blow implies that parents initiate the sex talk conversation stern with assurance, “I’d prefer you waited to have sex. That said, whenever you choose to do it, make sure you use one of these condoms.” Ultimately, regarding the importance of sex education, I strongly agree with Blow that comprehensive sex education is needed within high schools so that teenagers can avoid the harsh outcomes of sexual activity. Teenage pregnancy is very rampant in today’s society as children are becoming more sexually active at an earlier age. Why does it seem as though the attitude about pregnant teenagers is more relaxed and desirable? I walked into the food store the other day and couldn’t help but notice a pregnant girl about fifteen pushing a stroller and to...
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