Giving Birth Control to Teenagers
Human sexuality is the most confusing and the most repressed topic in contemporary society. According to Freud’s theory on psychosexual development, when people enter the genital stage in puberty, they experience a sudden increase of sexual energy. Consequentially, teenagers begin to explore their sexuality, sexual orientation, and identity. Their sexual development depends on both internal factors and external factors. Genetics and neurotransmitter functionality are considered internal factors while social agents are considered external factors. Social agents that influence sexuality concepts and beliefs in teenagers are parents, peers, school, religion, and the media. However, messages regarding sexuality from different sources are often confusing and contradictory, so teenagers are left to explore their sexuality alone. Giving birth control to teenagers is a short-term solution to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD), but it is better than avoiding the issue and failing to prevent sexual risk behavior consequences. However, giving birth control to teenagers should be limited to barrier methods.
Abstinence from intercourse is the only method that guarantees protection from unwanted pregnancy because all methods have their strengths and weaknesses. However, it is impossible to forbid teenagers from exploring their sexuality. For example, Foucault’s (1990) analysis of human sexuality across history indicates that extreme repression inevitably leads to movements against repressing forces. That is especially true for sexuality because it is a powerful biological and psychological impulse that has to be expressed creatively to avoid suppression or negative expression (Foucault, 1990). In contemporary society, parents should be the most trustworthy social agent for conveying knowledge about sex to their children. Unfortunately, most parents evade discussing sexuality with their children, so children have to turn to other social agents to receive clarifications about their sexuality and guidance when they encounter sexual issues (Snegroff, 1995). If parents fail to communicate with their children about sex, teenagers will more likely develop sexual risk behavior and expose themselves to premature pregnancy or STD (Whitaker, Miller, May, & Levin, 1999). Although the current situation requires giving birth control to teenagers to prevent negative consequences from sexual risk behavior, the final aim of solutions to sexuality issues should be to objectively educate both parents and teenagers about sexuality.
The barrier method and hormonal methods are two main types of birth control. Although barrier protection methods provide a combination of birth control prevention and STD prevention, some people will resort to hormonal protection methods that do not prevent STD. Furthermore, hormonal protection methods can be devastating for long-term health and well-being. Hormonal protections can also cause immediate imbalances in the physiology of teenagers who are still developing physically, and those cases often display fatal consequences. For example, teenage girls who take their mother’s birth control pills expose themselves to developing vaginal cancer in their late teens or early twenties because they were exposed to diethylstilbestrol (as cited in Birnbaum, 1994). It is important to educate teenagers about both methods and explain why barrier methods are safer than hormonal methods. Hormonal adjustments to any organism inhibit its natural functions, and birth control methods that manipulate hormonal levels and functions in the body should not be allowed to teenagers.
Finally, abortion is an option for avoiding birth, but it raises moral issues and potentially causes value conflicts and feelings of guilt. Scientific studies show that women who attend legal abortion willfully do not suffer from severe negative consequences (Adler et al., 1990). However, most states in America and countries in the world do not support abortion on minors without consent from one or both parents. That means teenagers in their early teens could cope with more stress because of resulting psychological tensions and changes in family relationships. Furthermore, women who lack support from parents or partners in the decision-making process on abortion are usually under more stress because they feel more responsibility for the consequence of their decision (Adler et al., 1990). Although abortion can create an instant feeling of relief, some women can possibly suffer from negative psychological effects later in life when they recall that situation (Adler et al., 1990). Giving birth control to teenagers is a better solution to manage their sexuality exploration while minimizing negative consequences. However, the final goal should be the development of a healthy attitude towards sexuality that will create productive sexuality rather than destructive sexuality (Foucault, 1990). Only when sexuality is accepted as a biological impulse that is not a foreign impulse which creates guilt, it will be possible to properly educate teenagers about sexuality and prevent risk behavior.
Human sexuality is a powerful psycho-physiological impulse, and it cannot be suppressed because any form of suppression or denial of sexuality is a potential risk factor that impairs psycho-social development. However, until society becomes capable of researching and defining sexuality objectively, birth control is the only way to minimize unwanted pregnancy and STD rates. As long as teenagers are required to receive conflicting messages from different social agents, they will be confused and will be at risk of reaching wrong conclusions and developing sexual risk behavior. It is necessary to give teenagers birth control to prevent negative consequences if they develop that form of behavior, but they should be limited to barrier methods because hormonal methods can implicate their physiological development and do not regulate STD rates.
References
Adler, N. E., David, H. P., Major, B. N., Roth, S. H., Russo, N. F., & Wyatt, G. E. (1990). Psychological responses after abortion. Science, 248(4951), 41-44.
Birnbaum, L. S. (1994). Endocrine effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs, dioxins, and other xenobiotics: implications for policy and future research. Environmental Health Perspectives, 102(8), 676-679.
Foucault, M. (1990). The history of sexuality, Vol. 1: An introduction. (R. Hurley, Trans.). New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
Snegroff, S. (1995). Communicating about sexuality: A school/community program for parents and children. Journal of Health Education, 26(1), 49-51.
Whitaker, D. J., Miller, K. S., May, D. C., & Levin, M. L. (1999). Teenage partners’ communication about sexual risk and condom use: The importance of parent-teenager discussions. Family Planning Perspectives, 31(3), 117-121.
