Mandatory Birth Control for All Girls

[Scott C.]

I'm surprised it's currently 6 for, & only 12 against.
Are those for it non-Americastanians?
I wonder because it seems so counter to our culture & legal system.

It's totally counter to our culture and legal system. Generally speaking, I'm a law abiding citizen. But this type of law may perhaps provoke me to put a gun in the face of a government official who comes to my door to take my 12 year old daughter away for this procedure. Keep your f*ing hands off my daughters!! I apologize for that language but this puts me over the top. It would be an incredible over reach of the government into one of the most private aspects of personal and family life. I can't see how any pro-choicer would support this, given their stance on the importance of privacy and of keeping the government out of women's wombs. Of course, I don't t want to see 14 year old girls getting pregnant, but this is absurd. Also, girls can legally marry under 18 years old, depending on the state and parental permission etc. Are you going to make it illegal for a married woman to get pregnant? Welcome to Communist China. Sorry, I can't get over the absurdity of this idea.

 

[Twilight Hue]

The question arose from another thread that was bouncing the subject around.

If it was possible to safely make all girls "unimpregnantable" from puberty until they're at least 18, and make it mandatory, would you be

For it ?

​

Or not?

That decision would best be left up to the parents themselves and not for any authoritive body to decide.

Besides, why only girls? What about boys?

 

[Skwim]

Besides, why only girls? What about boys?

See posts 13 and 45.

 

[Twilight Hue]

See posts 13 and 45.

I see. Jumped in here without sticking my toe in the water first. *Grin*

Awhile back I remember about a contraceptive pill being developed for males. I believe it goes by the name of Vasalgel.

 

[Skwim]

It's totally counter to our culture and legal system. Generally speaking, I'm a law abiding citizen. But this type of law may perhaps provoke me to put a gun in the face of a government official who comes to my door to take my 12 year old daughter away for this procedure.

Can we assume then that your 12 year old daughter is, or shortly will be, on birth control?

Keep your f*ing hands off my daughters!! I apologize for that language but this puts me over the top. It would be an incredible over reach of the government into one of the most private aspects of personal and family life. I can't see how any pro-choicer would support this, given their stance on the importance of privacy and of keeping the government out of women's wombs.

Perhaps because its practical?

And, don't forget:

​

EVERY WEEK!

Also, girls can legally marry under 18 years old, depending on the state and parental permission etc

What a neat solution.

. . .a majority of teen marriages suffer from complications and often lead to divorce,
Source: Wikipedia

According to a 2001 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 percent of those who marry before 18 are more likely to divorce within 10 years,
source​

 

[Shadow Wolf]

No, not at all. However teens should be well educated about sex and birth control. But they shouldn't be required to take birth control (especially since some women are allergic and there really isn't a male equivalent to be forced on them and safe sex is the responsibility of all involved, not just the woman).

 

[Skwim]

No, not at all. However teens should be well educated about sex and birth control. But they shouldn't be required to take birth control (especially since some women are allergic and there really isn't a male equivalent to be forced on them and safe sex is the responsibility of all involved, not just the woman).

Please read the previous posts.

 

[Scott C.]

Can we assume then that your 12 year old daughter is, or shortly will be, on birth control?

My daughters are adults now and married. I was using "my 12 year daughter" to make a point.

And, don't forget...

This doesn't change my outrage over the thought of such a law.

​

What a neat solution.

I didn't say that a pregnant 16 year old getting married is a good solution. I said that in some states it's legal to get married younger than 18. My mom and dad got married at 16 and 19 years old, respectively. I would NEVER recommend this to a couple that young. Mom was not pregnant. But she got pregnant at 17 when she was married. Still married today after 60 years. Again I wouldn't recommend it. I'm not sure at what age marriage should be legal. Regardless, this does not change my outrage at your proposal.

 

[Skwim]

]I didn't say that a pregnant 16 year old getting married is a good solution. I said that in some states it's legal to get married younger than 18.

So what was the point of your remark? From what you say here it's as relevant as telling us when kids can get a drivers license in your state.

 

[Scott C.]

So what was the point of your remark? From what you say here it's as relevant as telling us when kids can get a drivers license in your state.

It's relevant because if we were to implement the temporary sterilization law for girls under 18, that would imply that either 1) legally married 17 year olds can't have babies or 2) all states would have to change their laws to not allow 17 year olds to marry. Do you believe that marriage law changes should accompany the sterilization law? But, this is a bit of tangent. It's one point of concern. My bigger concern is the law itself, without regard for marriage. And kids in my state can drive at 16. So if you can drive at 16, why not get pregnant? (chuckle).

 

[Deathbydefault]

I'm for it, so long as the girl has the option to stop using it whenever she decides to have a child.
That of course being after she is educated on the expenses of children and how the real world operates.

I do not support uneducated, horny teenagers making a child by accident.
Nor do I think teen girls whom are raped should even be presented with the option of keeping the child that may have been made.

 

[Shusha]

I'm not sure I understand why you would have to make it mandatory. If a safe, effective, easily used, affordable method of birth control were developed -- who would reject it?

I think you are going down the wrong path here. What we should be asking is why there are ANY unwanted pregnancies and work on finding a solution to those problems. Then the mandatory part becomes unnecessary.

 

[Akivah]

You're not suggesting that the 1,700 teen births of 15-17 year old girls per week are planned are you? I would bet the number would be less than 25.

It sure does. And it's good to keep in mind that the government is involved in many more issues than those that necessarily affect the entire population.

But now that you bring up the subject of the impact of teen pregnancies on the public,

In 2010, teen pregnancy and childbirth accounted for at least $9.4 billion in costs to U.S. taxpayers for increased health care and foster care, increased incarceration rates among children of teen parents, and lost tax revenue because of lower educational attainment and income among teen mothers.​

I agree with Demonslayer in post #33. You are trying to combine completely separate issues together. US Tax policy is a different issue from mandating people's reproductive rights. Just because this was done in communist China, doesn't mean it should be done here.

But I agree with you that the US government shouldn't provide those benefits and most other social programs as well. We could cut our taxes by half if the US government stopped doing those.

 

[Jiddanand]

Putting burden of law and forcefully keeping kids out of their natural growing isn't any good. Maybe this is already being done somewhere but this is unnatural and not appreciated.

 

[ZooGirl02]

I could not vote for that with the mandatory part.
Maybe strongly encouraged, nearly the default like circumcision used to be. Depending on how it's handled.
But mandatory? No way.
Tom

This is pretty much what my position would be. I don't think it should be mandatory but I do think it should be strongly encouraged.

 

[Riverwolf]

Gee, further reinforce to kids that they aren't worthy of trust, education, experience, validation, or autonomy until a magic number of winters has been seen, at which point they just magically have wisdom. And people wonder why there's so much depression and anxiety among teens and twenty-year-olds.

No. Teenagers put up with too many restrictions on their growth as it is. Just bloody pass out free condoms in Middle and High School, and have good, positive, mandatory sex education throughout. Shotgun punishments never work.

 

[Skwim]

Gee, further reinforce to kids that they aren't worthy of trust, education, experience, validation, or autonomy until a magic number of winters has been seen, at which point they just magically have wisdom. And people wonder why there's so much depression and anxiety among teens and twenty-year-olds.

No. Teenagers put up with too many restrictions on their growth as it is. Just bloody pass out free condoms in Middle and High School, and have good, positive, mandatory sex education throughout. Shotgun punishments never work.

The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the western industrialized world.

3 in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That’s nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year.

Parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls drop out of school. More than 50% of teen mothers never graduate from high school. Aid young parents by starting a Babysitters Club so they can take GED classes.

About 25% of teen moms have a 2nd child within 24 months of their first baby.
source


.​

 

[Riverwolf]

The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the western industrialized world.

3 in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That’s nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year.

Parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls drop out of school. More than 50% of teen mothers never graduate from high school. Aid young parents by starting a Babysitters Club so they can take GED classes.

About 25% of teen moms have a 2nd child within 24 months of their first baby.
source


.​

You don't heal a broken leg by choping it off.

You've just reiterated that a problem exists, not provided any justification for the proposed method.

3 in 10 is well below 50%, making a shotgun punishment unfair and overreaching. You don't punish everybody for the crimes of a few. That's just being insensitive and lazy.

Instead, ask WHY. WHY does America have those numbers? What makes America different from Europe? (Because of the geographical size, you can't compare America to any single European country; you have to compare the enitre subcontinent). Or Canada? What is it that causes more teens to have unprotected sex (and pregnancy is the thing you're most concerned with that? Really? Not STIs? The problem that involves everyone who has unprotected sex?) in the US, than in the rest of Western Civilization?

The US is big. IIRC, teen pregnancy is most common in regions that teach absinance-only sex ed, while teen pregnancy is VERY low in regions that have proper sex ed.

And even besides all of that, nothing in that source negates my point: teenagers have to deal with far too much as it is. The proposed solution is just ONE MORE THING telling them that they're not worthy of trust or respect. Therefore, depression and anxiety are liable to increase even more, and it's already epidemic. Instead, target the source: that being, the abysmal sex-ed in regions where teen pregnancy is most prevalent, and the dangerous myth that abstinance-only is any kind of effective.

BTW, nice use of visual propaganda in that OP: using contrasting pictures in order to evoke desired emotions in the readers, and thus make them more likely to be on your side regardless of your argument's actual validity.

 

[Riverwolf]

This isn't like vaccines where other peoples' lives are at stake. I'm totally fine with that being mandatory.

If such a contraceptive existed, I'd be fine with that. As an option. NOT something mandatory. People (yes, guys, kids are people, too) won't ever learn how to make informed choices for themselves unless they're taught what their various options are, including pros and cons, and then allowed to go make those choices for themselves.

 

[Paleo]

I'm one of those 'radical' folks who thinks the human population is far too large already and find the steady increase worrying given numerous inevitable factors...but I digress.

I think the last thing we need is another mandatory, enforced regulation. Do I think our population is increasing far too quickly/that there are too many people? Yes. Do I think the answer to that is forcing them to use birth control? No. I think that is far from the answer at this point and would quite honestly be a waste of time and effort.