A problem in society today is the issue with minors and adolescents not having rights to obtain contraceptives without parental or guardian consent. Some minors are completely denied while trying to obtain contraceptives which is leading to increasing numbers of teenage pregnancy and chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. If a parent does not approve the minor of receiving contraceptives like birth control or condoms, this doesn’t mean that the minor still won’t be sexually active, this only increases the amounts of minors having unprotected sex.
Teen Pregnancy is a major problem in the United States that costs us around 7 billion dollars annually. With most teenage pregnancies being unintended, and the rising rates of teenage pregnancies in the United States seems to be a major problem. Plan B, or otherwise called “The morning after pill” is a safe over-the-counter contraceptive pill that can be taken up to seventy-two hours after unprotected sex. As of 2006, the use of plan B for a women under the age of eighteen requires a doctors prescription ruled by the FDA. This article mostly discusses the “legal tensions” that now exists since the FDA has made the access to minors restricted. It goes into detail about how parents have a right to raise their children as they see best fit, and if giving them the right to obtain these contraceptives and their parents do not please, that they may interfere with that. They also discuss how they believe that allowing minors access to this will increase their promiscuity, but studies showed that access to plan B without a prescription would not increase health-related risks. The author Vanessa Lu was a student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, she is now working as a legal extern at the U.S. Securities &Exchange; Commission. Lu is a research assistant to Professor Neil Williams of Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Lu is also the First-place winner in the ...