Is Birth Control A Human Right Research Paper Sample

Far too many girls today do not have access to forms of birth control due to lack of accessibility and the outrageous price tag. Birth control is the active choice to use contraceptives to prevent pregnancies and help with other health related issues. Birth control is a basic health necessity that everyone deserves access to. In more recent years this contraceptive has become a normal occurrence in the everyday lives of young sexually active girls and women. As stated in 2010, Birth Control, “the National Center of Health Statistics reported that 99 percent of sexually experienced women aged 15 to 44 have used some form of contraceptive at least once in their lives” (Zorea pg xi). This supports the objective truth that contraceptives should be as accessible as napkins are at restaurants. Birth control is not an option, it’s a human right, however that is not how most people feel.

In a lot of patriarchal countries birth control and forms of contraceptives are seen as ways to liberate women from their submissive roles. In these societies birth control makes women feel like their own person and that is the direct antithesis of what the men in power want.. Some could even say that birth control could even lead to a rise in domestic abuse in women. For instance the article Birth Control Sabotage and Forced Sex: Experiences Reported by Women in Domestic Violence Shelters,  stated that “Women who experience intimate partner violence often experience birth control sabotage, forced sex, and partner’s unwillingness to use condoms” (Amaro pg. 1). This quote is essentially linking the use of birth control to a way to control women and put them in abusive situations. This could also be perceived as a reason to enforce abstinence as a form of both contraception and protection. However that is not the case. In this situation, the real villains are men. They believe they can use birth control as a weapon against women. The impulsive and primal nature of males are the reason that birth control backfired in this situation. The article also claimed that men were unwilling to use condoms. In the grand scheme of all forms of contraception, condoms are the most affordable. They are also the most unreliable. Women cannot force their partner to wear one and many times the man is even able to take off the condom without the woman’s knowledge or consent. For these reasons, other forms of contraceptives such as pills and IUDs should be more affordable and accessible to the general public. 

The consequences of the lack of birth control doesn't just affect young adults, it affects adolescents as well. The consequence of a lack of sex education or poor sex ed can be detrimental to the development of adolescents. In the, Consequences of Sex Education on Teen and Young Adult Sexual Behaviors and Outcomes article, they claimed “Sex education about abstinence and birth control was associated with healthier sexual behaviors and outcomes as compared with no instruction”(Lindberg pg. 1). This could be seen as evidence that abstinence is a good thing and should be enforced more. The quote is imposing the idea that abstinence is the best form of birth control, which tends to make kids grow up with a fear of intimate and sexual activities. Abstinence does not lead to “healthier sexual behaviors and outcomes”, in fact, it leads to unanswered questions, confusion, and an overall grotesque feeling towards the subject.   This is not how children should view their bodies and sex as a whole. Sex education classes should educate children on what sex is, the best ways to prevent pregnancies, how certain forms of birth control can help improve overall health, etc. If schools began to create pro sex curriculums then their students would be more inclined to practice safe sex. This once again leads to how birth control should be more accessible and affordable so the students can practice what they’re taught when they’re ready. 

One of the many pressing issues today’s young adults face is finding affordable forms of birth control. Most of the income that young adults gross goes towards their school and everyday expenses. Oftentimes their budget does not allow for forms of contraceptives. This is why it is so vital for college campuses to have affordable to free contraceptives available for their students. Young adults that attend community colleges are the most at risk because their schools do not have enough resources to provide these necessities. As written in Concerns About the Cost of Contraception Among Young Women Attending Community College, “Contraceptive use is lower among students attending community college than 4-year college students, which may be due to financial barriers to accessing contraceptives (Yager pg. 1).”  This quote shows that young adults attending community colleges aren’t given the right amount of vital information about birth control and general safe sex. This situation is the epitome of a disaster because this leads to a lot of college students becoming sexually active without using a form of contraception. 

 Accessibility and convenience plays a large role in whether or not a young person will use contraception. If obtaining birth control is easy and private, more youth will be inclined to practice safe sex. As stated in Youth Perspectives on Pharmacists’ Provision of Birth Control: Findings From a Focus Group Study, “Younger and older participants thought obtaining a prescription at a pharmacy would be more accessible and possibly more private than visiting a clinic-based provider...pharmacist prescribing services would be especially convenient for college students who move frequently. Younger and older participants also thought pharmacists could potentially provide more privacy than a clinic…” (Carmelac Zunigac M.A pg. 3). In this study, young adults were asked what would make them feel more comfortable about purchasing and using birth control. In the end the general idea was that most of today’s youth would feel more comfortable about purchasing contraceptives if they were more private. This article is proving how young adults want to be on birth control but they don’t know how to access it. With more private and accablible birth control at a reasonable price safe sex is more likely to happen. 

The idea of what birth control is can be quite the controversial topic and there are many reasons to be for or against it. Many will say that allowing forms of contraception to run rampant conflict with their religion and is “morally wrong”, but it is so much more than that. Birth control is a basic health necessity that needs to be affordable and accessible to everyone. At the end of the day it is every human’s fundamental human right to have access to it. The debate on birth control and its accessibility is a health related crisis that affects so many people, therefore it must be taken seriously and solved immediately.