Migration is Beautiful
"Meet powerhouse artist/activist Favianna Rodriguez — a leading voice in the movement of artists raising awareness about U.S. immigration issues."
- I am OTHER
Harvest of Empire
The Untold Story of Latinos in America “We are all Americans of the New World, and our most dangerous enemies are not each other, but the great wall of ignorance between us.”
Juan González, Harvest of Empire
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Migration is Beautiful | Favianna Rodriguez | I am OTHER
"Meet powerhouse artist/activist Favianna Rodriguez — a leading voice in the movement of artists raising awareness about U.S. ...
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Plan's A, B & C
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| Black Bedouin |
I was actually glad to hear that it was going to be made available. There are still too many unwanted/teen pregnancies in this country. Even with a drastic decline in teen pregnancies in the U.S. over the last 10-15 years, we still lead the developed world in teen pregnancies.
Unfortunately, there are many girls who are too afraid to tell their mothers or grandmothers that they are pregnant for fear of physical abuse, and in some cases, being kicked out of the family home. And while abortion is legal, financially it can be out of reach for many teens.
Opponents to Plan B say that teenage girls should abide by Plan A – or abstinence. While that sounds like the higher path we want our girls to follow, the hideous and tragic events of Steubenville, from recent history, come to mind. I don’t want to debate the details of that incident, but what a tragedy that would be if the young lady involved had become pregnant.
Then there’s the other side – the proponents of Plan C, also known as, go ahead and have the baby. These are decisions that should not be made without complete consideration, but watch 16 and Pregnant on MTV and you hear many girls wonder what they were thinking when they got pregnant – the weighty decision of becoming mothers, dealing with rebellious, too young fathers and the complete stopping of their own lives.
As a Global Community, we have to be realistic about what young people know about sex and what teens, in particular, are doing when it comes to sex. While we have made much progress in our country with lowering teen pregnancy rates, we obviously have a ways to go. Not making Plan B available is not going to stop teen sex and/or pregnancy. However, it may be an alternative for some who are caught up in bad situations all the way around.
Young people need to know that they have options. We give them options for everything from cell phones to the high schools they attend, but somehow think they are never having sex or shouldn't have choices about sex. Plan B is really emergency contraception and should not take the place of sex education and long-term birth control.
Plan B can be an option for young girls and women who are in family or living situations that are non-supportive and non-communicative when it comes to sex. When it comes to teaching our youth about sex, every family is not as savvy about educating their teens about sex as they are with cell phones. Plan B, while not optimal, can be a better choice than having an unwanted pregnancy.
Keep the conversation going!! bb
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