Current Events - 2

Another current issue regarding the consequences of sex in the media would be the current effort to restrict abortion rights and access in the United States. This is a debate that affects the ultimate consequences for young people who do not truly understand the ramifications of sex. Teenagers are going to engage in sexual activity no matter what, but without proper education, it is not necessarily safe. In the United States in 2013, 43 out of every 1000 teen girls aged 15-19 became pregnant, while 11 of those had an abortion (Lowen, 2019). The number of both teen pregnancies and abortions has been steadily declining for decades now, but there still exists a lack of education to counteract what teens and children are seeing in the media. The media is a powerful educational tool and no matter what, everyone is learning something from it, whether consciously or subconsciously. Using it to educate young people on the risks of sexual activity is vital but not yet something that is being done on a greater scale. 

Now, back to the topic. What do abortion ban attempts mean for adolescents? Well, while it is technically illegal for abortions to be completely banned, there are a few states that are passing extremely restrictive laws that make it almost impossible to terminate a pregnancy realistically. Most women would not even know they were pregnant until after it was too late. In the proposal in Alabama, any abortion would become a felony. No exceptions would be given in cases of rape and incest, only in cases where the mother’s life was in danger. On October 29^th of this year, the law was struck down as unconstitutional, but the fight goes on. While this was the strictest bill in the nation, other states have begun proposing their own, similar bills. It has been a fight over the years, but it hit a new level in 2019 after the turning of power in the US judicial system when Brett Kavanaugh replaced retiring judge Thomas Anthony. Within one year, 9 states passed bills that would further restrict their abortion laws, including Louisiana, Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Utah, Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia, North Dakota, Indiana, and Alabama (Keneally & Svokos, 2019). While all of these are currently being challenged in court and have not yet gone into effect yet, it is a sign of the shift in times. Many people believe that it is part of a longer-term effort to overturn the nationwide “Roe vs. Wade” abortion allowance and that this is just the beginning. 

What affect would these bills have on a pregnant teen? Well, while adoption would still be an option, even just the pregnancy would forever alter a teen girl’s life. Less than 50% of teen moms finish high school and only 2% get a college degree before the age of 30 (DoSomething.org). While teen pregnancy is on the decline, it becomes even more important to teach teens about the risks involved in sex, with their options being taken away from them on a legal level. 

Citations

DoSomething.org. (n.d.). 11 Facts About Teen Pregnancy. Retrieved November 29, 2019, from

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-teen-pregnancy

Keneally, M. (2019, May 30). Louisiana governor signs 6-week abortion ban into law. Retrieved

November 30, 2019, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/louisiana-set-latest-state-sign-abortion-ban-law/story?id=63370943.

Keneally, M., & Svokos, A. (2019, May 29). State abortion bans in 2019: Many signed, none in

effect. Retrieved November 30, 2019, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/state-abortion-bans-2019-signed-effect/story?id=63172532.

Lowen, L. (2019, October 3). The Real Facts about Teen Pregnancy and Abortion Rates in

America. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.thoughtco.com/teen-pregnancy-and-abortion-rates-3534250.