Over the years, the issue of contraceptives has been something that has been advocated to people over 20 years or the married—however, there are several cases of teenage pregnancies that have been reported in the state of New Jersey. The cases reported among teenagers range from the age of 15 years to 19 years. Therefore, there is a need to create legislation that advocates for the introduction of contraceptives among teenagers, especially those girls that are actively sexually active. The legislation on contraceptives is supported by parents and healthcare workers and opposed by religious organizations, evidenced by increased abortions and a high number of teenage pregnancies. The major reason behind this is to ensure prevention of cases related to unprotected sexual behaviors which is rampant among adolescents.
High Number of Teenage Pregnancies
The issues of teenage pregnancy have been a common occurrence in the state of New Jersey. The number of teenage pregnancies must not be that high in New Jersey as compared to other states. The state is ranked 18 th out of 50 states in the pregnancy rate (Boyle, Kim & Longhofer, 2015). In the state, teenage pregnancy is caused by several factors that are both internal and external to a teenager.
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One of the most common factors is the lack of sex educations in schools. Notably, most students are not taught about sex and reproductive health in school (Boyle, Kim & Longhofer, 2015). The teenagers end up engaging in sexual affairs without the full knowledge of the repercussions. Another cause of teenage pregnancies is sexual violence. There are numerous cases of pregnancies that have been attributed to rape cases where girls have been lured by people they know. Additionally, financial constraints can be termed as a contributing factor to pregnancies among girls. Some men take advantage of young girls by luring them with money in the pretext that they will meet their financial needs.
Increased Cases of Abortions
There are circumstances where teenagers engage in abortion, especially when they come from humble backgrounds. In most cases, the termination of pregnancy is facilitated by an older person (Ippoliti, Nanda & Wilcher, 2017). The parents usually advocate for abortion due to several reasons such as public shame that is associated with teenagers getting pregnant. In this case, the shame usually lies in both the impregnated and also the family of the impregnated. This may trigger question such as the girl’s parents being irresponsible and soft in that they allow their daughter to engage in creepy sexual practices. However, from this case, if the pregnancy is of an adult, they give the affected teenager money to get rid of the pregnancy to avoid legal suits. On the other hand, there are cases where teenagers die in the process of terminating pregnancies occasioned by medical negligence and complications.
Supporting Stakeholders
The legislation is supported by two parties, namely parents and healthcare workers. Notably, the parents bear the hardest brunt of a teenager getting pregnant (Ippoliti, Nanda & Wilcher, 2017). It is integral to note that when a child gets pregnant, they are not in any formal employment. Between the ages of 15 to 19, girls rely on their parents for everything. Therefore, getting pregnant means that a family may be affected financially as they need to employ someone to take care of a child before they complete her high school and college education.
Moreover, parents will support contraceptive legislation since early pregnancies set a bad precedence for the young children. Young children usually learn a lot of things by seeing what the older children are doing and not what they hear (Ippoliti, Nanda & Wilcher, 2017). Numerous cases of pregnancies erode the moral fabric of the New Jersey that advocates for women to get children when they get married. On the flip side, parents are emotionally and psychologically drained by seeing their teenage girls pregnant.
Additionally, the legislation will greatly rely on the voice of healthcare workers. Notably, healthcare workers face an uphill task when they get cases of botched abortions (Shah, Santhya & Cleland, 2015). Also, the bodies of teenage girls are not well-formed by the time they get pregnant. Hence, they face several complications when giving birth, such as high blood pressure. Besides, the pelvic bones of teenage girls are not well-formed, making it hard for girls to give birth through normal delivery. Therefore, healthcare workers will support the legislation to introduce contraceptives to teenagers to reduce the numerous cases of pregnancy.
Opposing Stakeholders
In legislation, some factions or organizations oppose the preparation and presentations of bills to congress. One of the opposing sides is composed of religious organizations (Shah, Santhya & Cleland, 2015). Notably, churches and mosques are based on the teachings of the holy books of the Bible and the Quran. The holy books are against the use of contraceptives since its tantamount to interfering with life. Therefore, the legislation of contraceptives will need to consult further with the religious groups to ensure that their opinion is factored in the legislation. To better expound on contraceptives, the healthcare personnel will cite cases of abortions and teenage pregnancies to ensure that the bills sail to congress and is approved as a law or an act.
The second opposing stakeholder is composed of non-governmental organizations. The NGOs that are mostly concerned with children's welfare will oppose the legislation of the bill on the pretext that children are not legally allowed to consent to the use of contraceptives (Ippoliti, Nanda & Wilcher, 2017). On the other hand, some NGOs view contraceptives as a family planning tool and not a measure of reducing the chances of getting pregnant. The organizations are of the view that contraceptives interfere with the physical and mental growth of the girls. However, there is no scientific backing to prove that contraceptives interfere with the development of teenagers.
Legislation
The most crucial part of the use of contraceptives among teenagers is legislation. The person who will be handed over the legislation is Congressman Andy Kim. The legislator is the 3 rd district congress member of New Jersey (Ippoliti, Nanda & Wilcher, 2017). However, Kim has a history of lobbying and legislating successful bills in the house of congress. Kim will require a sizable number of congress members to approve the bill. Besides, the speaker will have to ascent to the draft as required by the United States of America constitution.
Conclusion
Over the years, teenage pregnancies have become a significant health and moral issue in most states. As a result, New Jersey is one of the states that have experienced a steady rise in the number of pregnancies among young girls. Additionally, several cases of pregnancies have led to the escalation of abortion cases. The parents and healthcare workers bear the greatest brunt of teenage pregnancy. As a consequence, therein, parents and healthcare workers support the introduction of a bill in the house of congress to allow teenagers to access contraceptives. However, some oppose the introduction of the bill, such as churches and NGOs. To ensure the bill sails through parliament, the legislation of the draft will be added over to Congressman Andy Kim, who has a high success rate of passing bills into law.
References
Boyle, E., Kim, M., & Longhofer, W. (2015). Abortion Liberalization in World Society, 1960–2009. American Journal of Sociology, 121 (3), 882-913.
Ippoliti, N., Nanda, G., & Wilcher, R. (2017). Meeting the Reproductive Health Needs of Female Key Populations Affected by HIV in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of the Evidence. Studies in Family Planning, 48 (2), 121-151.
Shah, I., Santhya, K., & Cleland, J. (2015). Introduction: Postpartum and Post-Abortion Contraception: From Research to Programs. Studies in Family Planning, 46 (4), 343-353.
