Argument: Pro-Life

Jake Stiles
English III AP 1B
20 March 2010
Assuming Chaotic Responsibility Within the last decades, the etiquette and class of society’s teenagers has evolved dramatically. In the past, children and teens focused on education as their main priority. Obeying their parents was never a problem and their friends were always great influences. Today, teenagers freely give into the negative influences of their peers by using narcotic and illegal drugs, skipping school, and participating in sex before marriage. Without the proper precautions, sex can most often result in teenage pregnancies. Although the child themselves will be held accountable for the birth that lies before them, society should not assume the responsibility of caring for teenage mothers and their child. When becoming pregnant, teenagers are forced to mature and become adults at a mere rate of nine months. They are faced with difficult decision making about their education and their future. Unlike the normal teenager, they have someone else to consider when making their choices from now until the end of their life. Continuing the pregnancy is an obvious question. This decision can be altered by many factors, including support of her family, the father’s family, and the community. Society’s sharp division on the matter of abortion has a large influence on the mother’s decision. She will also have to plan to further her education and a secure career to support herself and the child. Although the mother may be planning to continue with high school and college, this may be extremely difficult to consider when a child is brought into the picture.
Most teenagers don’t plan on getting pregnant, but sometimes it happens. Not only does pregnancy at a young age cause health problems to the mother, but also to the child. Most of the time, teenage mothers lack the necessary prenatal vitamins to keep the child healthy. This results in a premature birth and a low birth weight. Low birth-weight babies are exposed to mental retardation, brain damage, and injury at birth. Why would someone want to put an innocent baby through this? Girls normally begin their menstrual period between the ages of 10 and 15. During this time, the bones are not yet fully formed and developed; therefore it makes it much more difficult to hold a child in the womb. The birth can put an enormous strain on the mother’s body. She can injure her spine and her pelvic bones, which could cause major health problems in the future.
Because the teenager is still a child, it is posed that society assumes the responsibility of caring for her and the unborn child. Eventually they have to pay for the tax that in turn pays for the medical bills and expenses. A portion of their money also goes to welfare systems such as Medicare and Medicaid, Lone Star food stamps, local education scholarships, and assisted housing. In the first place, the teenager should be responsible enough to endure the consequences on her own. Everyone has a free will and every one has the right to making their own decisions. Yet, they are still reckless and irresponsible and chose to bring another life into this world when they cant even take care of themselves yet. As far as the facts go, 66 percent of unmarried teens have sex by the age of nineteen years, and 18 percent have sex before the age of 15 years. All together, that’s 84 % of teens participating in sexual activity. That number is mind blowing, but it just shows the recklessness of our teenagers today compared to that of the early 19th century. About one million teenagers become pregnant each year, and a little more than half give birth. The statistic that mostly surprises me is the fact that 85 percent of all teenage pregnancies are unplanned. Society should not have to be held responsible for this all of a sudden happening when it wasn’t even planned for.