Appraising Long Term Contraception Distribution Policies for Minors

Abstract: Teenage pregnancy is costing the United States billions of dollars in social programs. These
costs are rising and so is the rate of teenage pregnancies. Unfortunately, teenage parents are driven into poverty and have a very little chance of escaping. Similarly, their children face poor care, higher health risks, and are more likely to be teenage parents. In light of this situation, some have proposed giving teenagers Norplant contraceptive implants.

This paper will investigate the economic, social, and moral issues involved with a public policy that distributes long term synthetic hormone contraceptive to teenagers. It will show that such a policy could save the United States billions of dollars, improve the contraceptive options for teenage women, and does not necessitate a coercive public policy that represses women’s rights. The problems facing implementing this public policy include radically restructuring our public schools and establishing a better governmental sexual education curriculum. This goal, however, will probably accomplish much of what the controversial policy was intended to do.