By Anaya Graham, 15, Youth Farm participant
How often are teen pregnancies talked about? Is sex education taught in your state or school? I don’t hear it talked about as much as I feel it should be, especially in high school from my personal experience.
The one reason I believe it should be spoken on more is because of the percentage of teen parents and all of the issues that can come with it because every student’s background is different.
Teen pregnancy can be a challenging thing to handle or work with because most students already aren’t comfortable enough to talk to their parents about personal things or talking to most adults in that matter. Just imagine the pressure students might feel when having to tell the adults they are pregnant or gotten someone pregnant.
At a certain point in your high school experience, there should be lessons on teen parenting and contraceptives that should be accessible for teens to help prevent pregnancies and protect themselves. If a teen gets pregnant while attending school, there will be lots of stress on them; school is one of the biggest stressors on students.
Studies showed that at least 30 percent of teen girls drop out of school. The abortion rate also shows it’s getting higher with high school teens.
There are many contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. On the other hand, many diverse cultures and religions have different inputs on things such as abortions or other things that prevent pregnancies.
So, with that, I believe that students in school should at least be able to get comfortable to at least ask a counselor for tips on what they should do.
