Final

Teenage pregnancy has become an increasingly prevalent issue in our society today. Many parents and politicians are responding to this dilemma by trying to gain full control of the sexual rights of our young adults. As seen in California, propositions have been imposed to prevent pregnant teens from seeking private abortions; parents are petitioning for consent and want to have the power to decide against their child’s abortion. In other states, such as many in the Midwest, young women must obtain the consent of their families and wait through a grace period. Teen pregnancy may be on the rise, but it is important for parents and politicians to recognize the sexual rights and privacy that young women are entitled to; parents would provide a disservice to their teens if they seek to eliminate the rights of their children to their own bodies.
Taking away a teenager’s ability to consent to their own abortion is dangerous. Many girls who fall into the issue of teenage pregnancy may come from broken families, and confiding their pregnancy to a family member may bring about abuse. They may also face other issues of disownment and abandonment during a time where support is essential and necessary. Also, young teens may resort to the alternative of illegal abortion to avoid obtaining parental consent; these procedures are not medically approved and life-threatening.
Implicating a grace period also discourages a young woman to seek an abortion. Seeing as many teens attend school, hold jobs, and have no access to direct transportation, several may become disheartened in obtaining an abortion that is both legal and safe. By limiting the options and abilities of a teenager in terminating her pregnancy, teens will have no outlets and freedom in their sexual health.
In several instances, many pregnancies are detrimental to the health of a young teen. Situations such as these call for immediate and mandatory abortion. Many parents may hold beliefs against abortion, so obtaining parental consent would not benefit a young teen whose life is threatened by pregnancy. In these types of medical circumstances, a teenager should be entitled to the rights of her own body. She should have the ability to make a personal decision relating to her own life and death.
As said by Martin Luther King, Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Like those who have fought in the past for something they believed in, parents and young teens across the country should fight for teenage sexual rights to abortion. Write to council members, petition, and protest. Taking away the sexual rights of a young female is oppressive. Every woman should have the right to make decisions to their own body regardless of their age; no one else understands the body and mind of a woman besides the woman herself.