The only birth control
method and disease transmitting
preventative that is proven to be
100% effective is abstinence. Abstinence
by definition includes refraining
from all types of sexual activity,
which includes vaginal sex, anal
sex, oral sex, outercourse (dry
sex or grinding), mutual masturbation
and any other sexually gratifying
activity. Unfortunately, teens are
unable to control their hormone
drive at many times and find themselves
in positions they do not need to
be in at such a young age. There
are numerous risks involved with
sex that adolescents are unaware
of or unable to grasp the concept
of. These risks include pregnancy,
AIDS/HIV, sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), emotional consequences,
and the guilt felt far going against
one's morals.
The National Campaign to Prevent
Teen Pregnancy reported that four
in ten teenage girls become pregnant
at least once before the age of
20, resulting in 900,000 teen pregnancies
each year. The United States, by
a wide margin, has the highest teen
pregnancy rate of all the industrialized
countries in the world, which can
only be efficiently prevented by
abstinence. Most of the products
that are available as a source of
birth control are only 95-99% effective.
Condoms are the most popular used
preventative, but even those are
not 100% effective because they
are made in factories, and factories
are not always 100% accurate. If
an adolescent girl becomes pregnant,
she faces many obstacles in her
future path. Will she have an abortion?
This question leads to an ethical
and moral issue. If not, then is
she ready and capable of caring
for a child on her own? She will
not be able to achieve raising the
child efficiently alone, and juggle
school and possibly a job at the
same time. Teenage mothers are more
likely to rely an welfare than other
mothers. Will her parents or the
baby's father help her? Compared
to 25 years ago, it is far less
likely for the teens to marry due
to pregnancy, and many parents do
not condone the choice of having
sex before marriage and would rather
have the baby put up for adoption
which brings up another option for
the teen. If she has the baby, will
she be prepared to face the risks
involved with the pregnancy because
it is a teen pregnancy? Some of
the risks include birth defects,
a lower birth weight, a higher chance
of the child doing poor in school,
the child being abused or neglected,
the child going to jail or prison,
or the child becoming pregnant or
impregnating someone else themselves.
Having sex throughout one's adolescent
years also puts them at a greater
risk for being infertile. There
are so many psychological, moral,
and ethical issues involved with
teen pregnancies that teenagers
are not capable of facing at such
a young age, which is why abstinence
should be practiced.
Even with the use of birth control,
one can still contract a sexually
transmitted disease or even worse,
the AIDS/HIV virus which could lead
to death. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention,
STDs accounted for 87% of all cases
among the top ten most frequently
reported infections in the U.S.
and that approximately two-third
of all people who acquire an STD
are under the age of 25. The American
Social Health Association reported
that over 15 million Americans are
newly infected with an STD each
year, including 3 million teens.
Some sexually transmitted diseases
can be treated, but none can be
prevented (unless by abstinence)
or cured and some STDs and viruses
that are transmitted could be deadly.
There are emotional factors involved
with engaging in sexual activities
at a young age. Many times, one
partner wants to do the activities
because they believe it will bring
them closer to their partner, while
the partner just wants to engage
in the activities to gain the pleasure
out of it and when it is over, they
have no more use for their partner
which results in an emotionally
broken teen. The teen that ends
up hurt is usually the girl, but
in some cases it is the boy. Adolescents
are too young, immature, and ignorant
to be engaging in casual sex because
it never ends in a positive way.
Christian teens know that Gad does
not want His children to have sex
before they are married, so when
they have sex because they were
unable to control their hormones,
they immediately feel guilty and
regret what they did. Many girls
will feel resentment toward the
boy that took her virginity because
that is something that she can never
get back. The roller-coaster of
emotions that one feels after premarital
sex as a teen are overwhelming and
should not have to be felt at such
an early age because they are not
able to cope with them. If an adolescent
becomes pregnant, she could be ruining
her future plans, goals, and dreams,
which would cause emotions that
would be extremely difficult for
her to deal with. Adolescents with
a low self-esteem are more likely
to have premarital sex than teens
with a high self-esteem.
According to recent studies, it
has been proven that children with
a good relationship with their parents
are more likely to practice abstinence,
and parental influence is the biggest
factor regarding whether or not
their teen will have premarital
sex. If parents are willing and
able to share with their children
why they should not participate
in sexual activity at such a young
age, they are more likely to take
their parents' advice and practice
abstinence. Ignorance is probably
the number one reason that adolescents
engage in sexual activity before
marriage. They are unaware of the
facts and risks involved in believing
that birth control products are
efficient enough to protect them
from all the dangers of premarital
sex and the risk of pregnancy. If
every teen in America knew the risks
involved with sex, witnessed the
birth of a child, or even knew the
amount it cost to take care of a
newborn, they would practice abstinence.
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