Vote totals:
Yes:
100%
No:
0%
Neutral:
0%
DEBATE: WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
Teenagers are obsessed with being sexual
Young people are obsessed with sex. They see it is a way of proving how adult they are, a way of having fun, and they want to try it because they’ve heard so much about it. They are also at an age when they think they know it all and won’t listen to others. They’re having spontaneous sex and they’re oblivious to risks. The very least we can do in this situation is to try and make contraception normal and easily accessible.
Young people do not listen to adults because too much focus has been given to meeting their needs. They think the world revolves around them when they should be taught the need to be good citizens. We don’t need to become more liberal with children, we need to become more strict. We need to start teaching them that they are responsible for their actions and will suffer if they do something wrong. Only then can we turn the tide of the type of behaviour that no civilised society should bear
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
Huge burden on society
The problem of teenage pregnancies is one which affects all of society. Teenage pregnancies add a huge burden to housing and welfare – let alone the problems the child may encounter being raised by people who have little experience of the world and are little able to provide for him or her. Contraception is not the only answer but it is an answer. Making access to contraception more difficult would be a ludicrous idea. Why then, is the opposite equally ludicrous?
We are partly responsible for creating the problem by providing people who get pregnant with automatic housing assistance and a wealth of state handouts. Take away these and there will be much less reason for young people to get pregnant – or much more reason for them to choose other options than having the child themselves. By providing greater access to contraception we don’t deal with the cause but a symptom and this issue will not be dealt with until we start attacking its root.
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
Young people need more help
The young people most at risk of getting pregnant are also the ones who are most vulnerable. By providing them with easy access to contraception we also get the opportunity to talk to them about safe sex and about other issues which may be bothering them. Without this access young people are lost to us and become feral.
Young people need to take responsibility for their own actions. They need to choose to seek help for if they don’t they wont be ready to make the difficult decisions necessary to change their lives. We can’t help those who don’t want to help themselves and if that means some people are lost to us and become feral, so be it.
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
Lack of knowledge diminishes effectiveness of contraceptives
Teenagers cannot be expected to know about contraception when they begin sexual experimentation. Oftentimes contraception is used incorrectly, which causes them to be ineffective. Misinformed youth can often take unnecessary risks because they are unaware of the potential consequences of their actions. The best way to educate youth on this matter is to make contraceptives readily available, along with the necessary information that they need to know, so that they can make their own informed decisions and act responsibly.
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
Young people want to have kids
Do you have any studies to support this point?
Whilst some young people may get pregnant as a way of milking the system or to gain respect it is a huge generalisation to say that this is true of the majority. Many young people get pregnant when they don’t want to; by making access to contraception easier we ensure at least some of them aren’t sucked into a lifetime of poverty.
Most young people who get pregnant do so because they want to, not through lack of education. They know by getting pregnant they can get state handouts and a council house. In some deprived areas they also get respect for being pregnant. Educating them is not going to change that.
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
We should focus on abstinence and education
It is unreasonable to expect that young people below the age of 16 will not have sex. The truth is that they do and we need to confront the reality of the situation rather than dealing with abstract notions of what should be so. It is also deeply unrealistic to imagine that young people will abstain from sex because they have been encouraged to do so. Evidence from America suggests such an approach is staggeringly unsuccessful.
We shouldn’t give people below the age of consent access to contraception, to do so implies a tacit approval of illegal behaviour. Instead we should teach people the dangers of getting pregnant and encourage abstinence as the best method for avoiding unwanted children.
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
Can’t throw money at the problem
Money doesn’t solve all problems but if providing access to contraception prevents at least some pregnancies then it must be worth the investment. No single thing will solve this problem and access to contraception would only be provided in conjunction with other forms of education and treatment. However, clearly contraception does work and making it more accessible would mean more people used it. Ergo, fewer pregnancies.
Once again the government imagines a problem can be solved simply by throwing money at it. We need to look at why young people choose to get pregnant, we need to find out the best ways of getting through to them the dangers of getting pregnant and we need to provide better access to mentors and guardians so young people decide to learn from people who’ve been through it before rather than their peers who aren’t the most wise.
WILL IMPROVING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION LOWER THE NUMBER OF TEENAGE PREGNANCIES?
Lack of access to contraceptives is not the main reason for unprotected sex
In the instances where unprotected sex happens it is usually because the parties involved have taken alcohol or other drugs, or else the man thinks it is ‘uncool’ to use protection. Increasing the number of condoms won’t prevent these incidences from occurring – they will always happen anyway.
What we need to do is tackle some of the wider issues and problems affecting youth, and trying to alter their attitudes.
