Should Birth Control Pills Be Available to Teenage Girls Without Prescription?

Written by Emilie Cooper

Out of the top 25 countries on the Human Development Index, the United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rates (United Nations Development Programme, 2018).

Coincidently, it also stated that out of 1000 teenagers, 19.9 of them will give birth to a baby in the US. Both of these statistics reveal that teen pregnancy has become an important issue in our society.

To confront this alarming situation, most teens are taught that the best contraception is abstinence in schools. With an estimated 55% of teens having sexual intercourse before their 18th birthday (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017), a proactive approach may be providing proper protection to teens to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Thus, birth control pills should be available to teens without prescription.

While many people associate birth control use with preventing pregnancy, it can be used for many other reasons, such as reducing acne, preventing iron deficiency, and eliminating period cramps along with other menstrual-related ailments (Planned Parenthood, 2019). Furthermore, many women use birth control to help regulate their period or even completely stop their period. Many women cannot function during their period due to cramps, mood swings, and excessive bleeding. According to Mayo Clinic News Network (2018), “[birth control pills] prevent hormone changes responsible for bleeding, cramping, headaches and other period-related discomforts. It can be convenient to skip a period during important events or trips. For women who experience iron deficiency due to heavy menstrual bleeding, using continuous regimens can reduce bleeding and there is less chance of developing iron deficiency.” These benefits can help women and teens function without issue in their day-to-day life. Clearly, the advantages of birth control are useful and applicable to women of any age.

Currently, to obtain birth control, women have to schedule an appointment with their doctor. Although this procedure is completely unnecessary, most states require it. According to the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception (2020), 76 countries allow access to emergency contraception without a prescription. So why can’t the U.S provide the same service? Medical experts have repeatedly expressed support of providing over-the-counter access to birth control. As stated by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (2019), “[p]elvic and breast examinations, cervical cancer screening, and sexually transmitted infection screening are not required before initiating hormonal contraception and should not be used as reasons to deny access to hormonal contraception.” There isn’t much reason behind these checkups to receive birth control other than creating an obstacle to obtaining contraceptives. Birth control is essentially a hormonal pill that contains the same hormones that women already have in their bodies. That’s why there are very low health risks from using birth control, and that’s why women shouldn’t need extensive checkups to be eligible for this service.

The notion of teens using birth control is very controversial. Adversaries of adolescents using contraception warn that the use of birth control pills correlates to a higher risk of depression in adulthood. According to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, and Leiden University Medical Center, “16-year-old girls on birth control pills reported more crying, more sleeping and more eating problems than girls who weren't on the pill, although the symptoms diminish once they enter adulthood,” (Kaur, 2019). Although this may be true, the consequences of not using birth control can cause the same problems as well as everlasting impacts on a girl’s life. Mental health issues are not only associated with birth control but also with unwanted pregnancies, “when compared with their peers who delayed childbearing, young women who had teen births were more depressed both before and after the transition to parenthood,” (Whitworth, 2017). Additional financial burdens, time commitments, and responsibilities of motherhood make it harder for teen mothers to concentrate on pursuing their goals. Consequently, these teen mothers become less successful than their peers, “research has convincingly shown that women who experience teen births end up with lower educational attainment and lower income than women who do not experience teen births,” (Whitworth, 2017). To prevent teens from having unwanted pregnancies that put their life on hold, making birth control more accessible is an effective solution. Women shouldn’t have to stand at this crossroad, having to make desperate and passive decisions on whether to have a baby, have an abortion, or give their child up to adoption services. The simple solution to prevent these dilemmas is to provide equal access to birth control for all women.

After examining the evidence, it is clear that birth control should be easily available to teens without prescription. The appointments required to receive prescriptions are redundant and limit the accessibility of birth control. Birth control also has many other benefits besides pregnancy prevention. Finally, teens should be able to choose to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Giving teens and adults access to birth control without prescription shouldn’t even be an issue in this day and age. Women should be able to have power over their own bodies, and they should be able to decide for themselves what they want and need. When one considers the positive impact of this proposal, it’s obvious that access to birth control is important and impactful.

Works Cited

"Birth Control should Not Require a Prescription." Des Moines Register, 06 Oct 2019. elibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2301045418?accountid=2924.

“Countries With Non-Prescription Access to EC.” National Consortium for Emergency Contraception, 2020, www.cecinfo.org/country-by-country-information/status-availability-database/countries-with-non-prescription-access-to-ec/.

From Mayo Clinic, News N. "Women's Wellness: Birth Control Pill Benefits, Risks and Choices." TCA News Service, 23 Apr 2018. elibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2028826012?accountid=2924#undefined.

“Human Development Reports.” United Nations Development Programme, 2018, hdr.undp.org/en/data.

Kaur, Harmeet. "Teen Girls on Birth Control Pills Report Crying More, Sleeping Too Much and Eating Issues, Study Says." CNN Wire Service, 30 Oct 2019. elibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2310408421?accountid=2924.

“Over Half of U.S. Teens Have Had Sexual Intercourse by Age 18, New Report Shows.” Centers for Disease Control and Protection, 22 June 2017, www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2017/201706_NSFG.htm.

“Over-the-Counter Access to Hormonal Contraception: ACOG Committee Opinion, Number 788.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, October 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31568364.

“What Are the Benefits of the Birth Control Pill?” Planned Parenthood, 2020, www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-control-pill/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-birth-control-pill.

Whitworth, Tanya R. "Teen Childbearing and Depression: Do Pregnancy Attitudes Matter?" Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 79, no. 2, 2017, pp. 390-404. elibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2061495847?accountid=2924, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12380.