Teen Pregnancy Proposal
Quentoria Willingham
Dr. Hall
English 1102
30 June 2013
Teen Pregnancy: Educating the Future Parents of Our Society In 2012 in the United States, the rate of teen pregnancy is at its lowest level in nearly forty years. However, teen pregnancy still remains the highest among the developed countries in the world (Weiss 1). Most teenage girls are getting pregnant at a rapid rate. Pregnancies can occur because of the misusage of condoms, unawareness of birth control, or intentionally. Some pregnancies are unintentional and unplanned because of teens not being educated on sexual activity. In today’s society, teenage girls want to feel accepted and raise their self-esteem. Engaging in sexual activity and getting attention from guys makes them feel attractive and beautiful. Is there a solution to reduce teen pregnancy and are all precautions being taken? If teens were better educated on sex and teen pregnancy, could pregnancy be prevented? I believe that sexual education classes should be imposed in schools to reduce this problem and help teenagers think about their actions before acting on them. I have first-hand experience on teen pregnancies. My mother was a single, teen parent. My mother birthed my sister at 17 and me at 18. My mother was under age 21 with two children. It was hard living in a single teen parent household. Since my mother was so young it was like my sister and I was my grandparent children. My grandparents had to provide for their children and my sister and I. With my mother having two small children at home she didn’t graduate from Data shows that approximately 67.8 per 1,000 women aged fifteen through nineteen, are becoming pregnant each year (Weiss 1). In 2010, teen birth rates declined for all races except Pacific Islanders (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The consequence of teen pregnancy is: teenagers not graduating from high school, having miscarriages and maternal illnesses, and the newborns are born at low birth
Dr. Hall
English 1102
30 June 2013
Teen Pregnancy: Educating the Future Parents of Our Society In 2012 in the United States, the rate of teen pregnancy is at its lowest level in nearly forty years. However, teen pregnancy still remains the highest among the developed countries in the world (Weiss 1). Most teenage girls are getting pregnant at a rapid rate. Pregnancies can occur because of the misusage of condoms, unawareness of birth control, or intentionally. Some pregnancies are unintentional and unplanned because of teens not being educated on sexual activity. In today’s society, teenage girls want to feel accepted and raise their self-esteem. Engaging in sexual activity and getting attention from guys makes them feel attractive and beautiful. Is there a solution to reduce teen pregnancy and are all precautions being taken? If teens were better educated on sex and teen pregnancy, could pregnancy be prevented? I believe that sexual education classes should be imposed in schools to reduce this problem and help teenagers think about their actions before acting on them. I have first-hand experience on teen pregnancies. My mother was a single, teen parent. My mother birthed my sister at 17 and me at 18. My mother was under age 21 with two children. It was hard living in a single teen parent household. Since my mother was so young it was like my sister and I was my grandparent children. My grandparents had to provide for their children and my sister and I. With my mother having two small children at home she didn’t graduate from Data shows that approximately 67.8 per 1,000 women aged fifteen through nineteen, are becoming pregnant each year (Weiss 1). In 2010, teen birth rates declined for all races except Pacific Islanders (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The consequence of teen pregnancy is: teenagers not graduating from high school, having miscarriages and maternal illnesses, and the newborns are born at low birth
Cited: “CDC - About Teen Pregnancy - Teen Pregnancy - Reproductive Health." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 June 2013. Cozic, Charles P. Sexual Values:Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1995. Print. Opposing Viewpoints Ser. Elliot, Sinikka. Not My Kid: What Parents Believe About the Sex Lives of Their Teenager. New York: New York University Press, 2012. Print. Orr, Shunta. Personal Interview. 2 July 2013. Weiss, Deborah. “Reducing Teen Pregnancy.” Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. Katherine Dexter McCormick Library. Oct. 2012. Web. 16 June 2013. “What Do Parents Want.” Abstinence Works. National Abstinence Education Foundation, n.d. Web. 1 July 2013.