Teen Pregnancy Essay -- Social Issues, Sexual Activity, Abstinence

Many adolescents are sexually active today. Whether it personal decision or being forced into it, teenagers are still involved. According to Sue Christensen and Ann Rosen, of those sexually active only one in five use contraception (Christensen). These teenagers who do not use contraception set their selves up for hardships in life. Being sexually active and using contraception as a teenager is a choice that may determine the rest of your life. Is â€Å"it† really worth it? One major outcome of those sexually active is pregnancy, which leads to many other choices: adoption, abortion, keeping the child, or even terminating the pregnancy. Pregnancy all begins with talk of sexual activity. According to Ilene Lelchuk, out of 618 California high school students, 44 engaged in some type of sexual activity during the years of 2002 – 2004. These 44 students were had sexual relations by the end of tenth grade (Lelchuk 1). Statistics from The Family Connection of St. Joseph County, Inc., stated that â€Å"56 percent of young women and 73 percent of young men today have had intercourse by age 18†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Christensen 3). Beginning in the 1950s, there are records of teenagers having intercourse and many unwanted pregnancies. Shocking pregnancy trends from the 1950s to present According to Christensen and Rosen, the teen birth rate in 1957 was higher than it is today (Christensen 1). In my opinion, although teenage pregnancy has become more socially acceptable in this day and age, so have pregnancy terminations and abortions. This meaning the birth rate may have gone down but the pregnancy rate has not. Yet, â€Å"In 1955†¦only six percent of white teenage childbearing occurred outside of marriage; today it is 42 percent† (Christensen 1). Altho... ... decision to become sexually active. â€Å"Then he asked me to have sex. I was scared and everything, and I was like, â€Å"What am I gonna do?† The first time I told him no and he understood. We watched some TV. And he brought me home. Then a couple of days after that he asked me again, I said okay. I guess I said so because I just wanted to show him I wasn’t scared to have sex. I was scared. But I guess I was playing a role. I wanted to show him that I’m not scared. So we had sex†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In my opinion, teen pregnancy is definitely not worth all the hardships. Teens should choose abstinence and completely reduce the risk of becoming pregnant. If pregnancy does occur, of those sexually active, adoption is the greatest choice a teenager can make. Providing the baby with a better life is the most important. Every teenager must ask themselves, is â€Å"it† really worth it?