Teen Pregnancy/ Pro Abstinance

Teen Pregnancy : Benefits of Abstinence

Introduction

Definition of Terms

In this essay , we shall use the following terms

Teen (or teenager : A young person between the ages of thirteen and eighteen years . This is also referred to as the age of adolescence

Abstinence : female

Preamble

The problem of pregnancy by young girls before the statutory age of consent is a worldwide phenomenon . A large number of literatures have been devoted to causes , negative effects and possible solutions to this universal social problem . The age of consent is normally established

by law at eighteen years or thereabouts . In the United States of America the accepted age of consent varies from one state to another ranging from sixteen years to eighteen . The age of adolescence witnesses the most rapid development in human beings . Physical and emotional developments are at their peak . Sexual organs like pubic hair and by breasts begin to grow rapidly in girls , while boys develop facial hair along with pubic hair and enlarged muscles of arms and legs . However in both sexes , physical development far outpaces emotional maturity . Hence adolescents have the body of adults but with minds of children still trapped in those bodies

A teenage girl , who is left to her own devices and without proper guidance at this period of her life , becomes vulnerable to making mistakes in her desire to act like adults without being able to weigh the consequences of her pseudo-adult behavior . One such pseudo-adult behavior is attempting to gain sex experience with members of the opposite sex . The net result of such experimentation is premature pregnancy , which is euphemistically termed teen pregnancy . In the United States alone the per year . However , with ongoing sex education programs , the annual pregnancy the United States has the largest number of teen pregnancies among the major democracies , much work still needs to be done to reduce the number of teenagers carrying unwanted pregnancies , and if possible eliminate this social cankerworm altogether

Statistics of Teen Pregnancies

The seriousness of the problem of teen pregnancies can best be appreciated from current statistics obtained from studies by experts on the subject . From a study conducted by Victor C . Strasburger , MD University of New Mexico School of Medicine , the following observations and conclusions were drawn

Fact : One million teens in the USA will become pregnant over the next twelve months Ninety-five percent of those pregnancies are unintended About one third will end in abortion one third will end in spontaneous miscarriage and one third will continue their pregnancy to term and keep their baby More than half of them are 17 years old or younger when they have their first pregnancy Approximately 40 percent of young women become pregnant before they reach 20 years old The United States of America has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates of any other industrialized country The poorer the young woman , the more likely she will become a mother Less than one-third of teens who have babies before the age of 18...