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Teen Pregnancy Social Justice IssueWhat is the issue? Young teens under the age of 20 can get pregnant through sexual intercourse. Teenage pregnancy has been a significant issue in our society, even including today.

The number of single teens who become pregnant continually increases dependence on the social welfare system causing a strain on state and local government services, in which we as a society pay taxes to support. There are three main ways in which pregnant young teens are affecting our society in general which include: higher taxes; rise in health care costs, and higher crime rates. Society is easily affected through higher taxes. Teen pregnancy poses a very substantially financial burden towards society, it is estimated to at $7 billion dollars annually in lost tax revenues. The Majority of young mothers that come from poverty lifestyles, broken homes, and academic failures are making it very hard in fact nearly impossible for teens to find jobs due to emotional stress. These teenagers are not knowledgeable or responsible enough to raise a child by themselves, being that they themselves are still young children. Their only resource, besides their parent guardians, is through the department of human services. This department provides financial assistance for shelter and other living expenses, including; food stamps that cover food and medical coverage for families that are in need.

That is where majority of the society’s taxes are distributed, along with other small state provided programs. This also affects society through a rise in health care costs. The United States is growing rapidly in population.

As a result, their health care costs are expected to rise at least 15%. Each year, there are about 860, 000 young teens who get pregnant. There are around 425, 000 who give birth to children in the United States. Teen pregnancy poses a major risk for both the young mother to be.

These mothers are at a very high risk for postpartum disorders, and possible depression. This may require them to go through counseling, and they also face the risk of experiencing complications such as premature labor, and infant mortality. The babies may suffer from nutritional deficiencies leading to a childhood disorder later on in the future. Who is it impacting/affecting? Teen Pregnancy is affecting the parent guardians, and the young women’s themselves. This also plays a huge role in society because of what people might think of someone “ young” getting pregnant.

According to professional statistics, in 2015 a total of 229, 715 babies were born to these young women who were aged 15-19. The birth rate was 22. 3 per 1, 000 women that were already included in this statistic.

CBS News states that there was a survey on Teen Pregnancy, and that they had found some very interesting news. In the survey, which was carried out by the Government had stated that “ The results were based on face-to-face interviews with nearly 2, 800 teens ages 15 through 19 at their homes in the years 2006 through 2008.” The results had also found out that about 42 percent of never-married teens had had sex at least once in their life. Of those teens, 98 percent said they’d used birth control at least once, with condoms being the most common choice. This YouTube clip shows what “ guys” think about young women becoming moms.

Where is it happening and to what extent? Teen Pregnancy is happening almost everywhere. Teen Pregnancy includes lack of parental care; which means that if those young women don’t have support from their parents then they are at the risk of not getting adequate parental care. Parental care is usually very critical during the first stage of the month; and can be very difficult if not dealt with at the right time. Of Course there are many circumstances that we also need to look at regarding why Teen Pregnancy actually does tend to happen.

Some of those circumstances include; peer pressure, absent parents, glamorization of pregnancy, lack of knowledge, sexual abuse or rape, and lastly teenage drinking. All of these are very serious and critical circumstances which can cause Teen Pregnancy. This doesn’t just depend if the sexual relation is consensual or not, most of these pregnancies happen due to the lack of knowledge from sexual education, and or making the wrong decision.  Why is it a social injustice issue? This is a social justice issue because Teen Pregnancy can cause a lot of mental and physical illnesses. Pregnant teens may not be able to seek the proper and appropriate medical care needed in order for them to be safe and healthy.

This can cause medical complications within them and cause them to worsen. A pregnant teen needs three very important things which are; understanding, medical and physical care, education. Education is the most important thing because if the teen is not educated they would not be able to get a job to help provide the necessary needs for their child. Depression is usually very common with young pregnant teens, and if the depression worsens than they would be taken to a professional medical health centre. What are the contributing factors? Some contributing factors include include: lack of knowledge about sex and how to use contraceptives; such as barriers to access contraceptives including negative attitudes of health staff; peer pressure; sexual coercion; low self-esteem; low educational expectations; poverty; family breakdown; and heightened sex-based messages in the media. Who are the people involved? The parent guardians and the pregnant teens involved.  What has been the response of the media? The response of the media says “ MTV reality shows such as 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom depict the realities of being a pregnant teenager and a young, single mother.

Lauren Dolgen, the creative mind behind the hit MTV reality shows, promotes them as having an agenda to attempt to reduce teen pregnancies, saying “ Absolutely. I mean, this (teenage pregnancy) is an epidemic, but it’s a preventable epidemic” (Conan). How to prevent this? There are many ways to prevent Teen Pregnancy. Some of them include; have sex talks with your parents, explain safe sex, encourage abstinence, lay out consequences, encourage them to gain experience  on how to handle a baby, and discuss the options that are necessary.