A More Sensitive Approach to Teen Moms

I had teen pregnancy on my mind when I first sat down to read the Jan. 28 article “Dropping the Bomb on Teen Moms” by Viviana Garcia ’12. With the season finale of Teen Mom and another season of 16 and Pregnant in the works on MTV, I approached Garcia’s article with interest. I sincerely believe that teen pregnancy is becoming a rapidly escalating problem in this country—according to the Centers for Disease Control, pregnancy in 15- to 19-year-olds increased significantly between 2005 and 2006, the greatest one-year increase since 1989-1990—and that it is an issue worth discussing.

I became horrified, however, upon discovering Garcia’s attitude toward teen pregnancy. Instead of showing support for those who find themselves in the situation and working toward a constructive way to prevent the problem from getting worse, Garcia decided to publicly bash them. Does she realize, I wonder, how many of her fellow students she likely offended by deeming all pregnancy outside of marriage as “unacceptable”? I personally have friends at this school born to unmarried parents who were hurt and insulted when Garcia essentially frowns upon their existence. What I find unacceptable is the intolerance she shows toward her peers.

I agree with Garcia’s point that “pregnancy is not something that young teens should ever be concerned with.” I also agree that shows like Teen Mom may glorify teen pregnancy, sending the message to teenage girls that if they get pregnant, they may qualify for a show on MTV. The show depicts young mothers who love their babies, go to school, and go out on dates; in turn, teen pregnancy becomes a romantic entity instead of the difficult truth it is.

I also agree with Garcia’s thought that girls who get pregnant at a young age may be lacking the attention or emotional support “they are not receiving in other areas of their lives.” In fact, Women’s Health Queensland Wide reports that among the risk factors for teen pregnancy are low self-esteem, childhood abuse, “unstable housing arrangements,” and family conflict. Tragically, lacking emotional support may lead some girls to make the unfortunate decision to have unprotected sex, resulting in unwanted pregnancy.

This, however, is where my agreement with Garcia’s points takes a radical turn. In her crusade to prove that teen pregnancy is disgraceful, Garcia shows naïveté in claiming that widely available contraception is the problem. Texas, for example, is one of a few states that require parental consent in order for teenagers to obtain contraception. Incidentally, the Texas Department of State Health Services reports, “every 10 minutes, a teen in Texas gets pregnant.” Given Texas’s attitude toward contraception, it is unlikely a coincidence that it has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the country, as reported by the Guttmacher Institute.

As Garcia admits, “guys and girls are going to have sex,”—not, as she claims, because they might have access to contraception, but because they are hormone-driven teenagers. The answer is not to make teenagers feel guilty by telling them that it is morally wrong for them to have sex, but to educate them. Any good sexual education program will be based on the concept that, as the CDC reports, abstinence is “the only 100 percent effective way to prevent pregnancy.” It should also be based on the fact that, according to the Guttmacher Institute, 46 percent of 15- to 19-year-olds in the United States “have had sex at least once” and that sexually active teens who do not use contraceptives have a “90% chance of becoming pregnant within a year.”

Sexual education should be based on safety and practicality, not on the moral standards Garcia claims are being destroyed by the advocacy of safe sex practices. If the research proves that many teenagers are going to have sex no matter who tells them it is “wrong,” it is simply logical to show them how they can protect themselves. Sexual education programs do not “condone teenage pregnancy,” as Garcia says—they serve to prevent it by showing teenagers methods by which they can keep themselves safe.