Teenage Pregnancy speech

Teenage Pregnancy
5/2/12

Purpose: To persuade the audience to support the prevention of teenage pregnancy.

Thesis: The problem of teenage pregnancy should be prevented rather than glorified.

Claim: Policy

Organizational Pattern: Problem-Solution

I. Introduction

A. Attention Getter: In today’s society, teens are faced with many pressures. The effect of these pressures put on them is the inability to make good decisions when it comes to certain situations. Two of the most common situations that teens find themselves pressured into have to do with alcohol and sex when they are not ready. And more often than not, the two are related.
B. Relevance: Most of us, being on a college campus, have been around alcohol or drugs, whether we care to admit it or not. According to an article titled Teens Tempting Fate, accessed April 30, 2012, when sober, about 75% of teens remember to use protection. While intoxicated, only 10% remember to use protection. Boys, imagine waking up next to a random girl, not remembering what happened the night before, and then finding out a month later that she is pregnant with your child. Girls, imagine being in the same situation, but having to contact that random boy and tell him that you are pregnant.
C. Credibility: A few years ago, this very problem happened to one of my friends, and I had to support her as she went through all of the hardships of being pregnant at 16. Her situation got me interested in what can be done to prevent this issue.
D. Thesis: In my opinion, the problem of teenage pregnancy should be prevented rather than glorified.
E. Preview: To further understand why teenage pregnancy is such an issue, I will first discuss some of the biggest causes of teenage pregnancy, then, the effects that media has on a teenager’s view of teenage pregnancy, and finally, discuss some of the solutions that have been brought up.

Transition: To begin, I will talk about some of the situations that teens are put in that can lead to becoming pregnant at a young age.

II. Body
A. There are many supposed causes for teenage pregnancies, some more common than others.
• Most high schools have a health education class. At my high school, this class was required for every student to take their sophomore year. In this class, we learned everything we would ever need to know about our bodies, including how to practice safe sex. Our teachers even handed out condoms. Although most high schools have a sex education program, for others this is not the case.
i. According to Judy Kresich, in an interview conducted on April 25, 2012, the high school in her town, Princeton Texas, does not have a sex education program. In 2006, the state of Texas had the highest rate of pregnancies in the entire US. Lack of sex education is said to play a big role in teenage pregnancies.
• On the flip side, a lot of kids who know all about birth control are simply too scared or to embarrassed to ask about it. Girls might be afraid to ask their parents about birth control because she is afraid that her parents will be displeased that she is having sex. Boys might be embarrassed to go to the local CVS to buy a pack of condoms.
• Another big contributor to teenage pregnancy is peer pressure. There are plenty of girls that have been pressured to have sex when they are not ready. When you are young and don’t know the difference between right and wrong, peer pressure is an easy thing to give in to.
• As sad as it is, rape is another source of multiple teenage pregnancies. Sometimes the abuser is a random man, but there have been multiple cases with a friend or family member being the abuser. According to the article Causes of Teenage Pregnancies, accessed earlier this week, in a study, the abuser was at least six years older than the victim.

Transition: Whether a teenager has had a sex ed class or not, most of them have been around the media.

B. Certain television shows give an unrealistic impression of what being a teenage parent is actually like.
• Most of us have heard of the ABC Family show the Secret Life of the American Teenager. In my opinion, this show is accidental glorification of the life on a teenage mom. According to the article The Media Addresses Teenage Pregnancy, accessed earlier this week, the show is centered on Amy, a teenage mother, and everything she goes through being a mother. Now this is where ABC Family goes wrong. Amy is offered a job that provides free health insurance and free daycare. The father of the baby gets a job and an apartment, and also helps out with the baby. ABC is giving teens the illusion that everything works out for a teen mother and everyone will drop everything to help out with the baby. They are not showing the realities of being a teen parent.
• On the other side of the argument, there are some shows that do depict the ugly truth of being a parent so young. MTV’s 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom definitely make teen pregnancy look like a living hell. These two shows reveal all of the hardships that come along on the road to being a parent, such as the tough decisions, the financial problems, and they even show the painful births. While these families no doubt are being paid buckets of money to be on this show, it does give a better view on what teenage pregnancy is actually like rather than ABC’s fantasy version.
• Although Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant give a good example of what it is like, some girls are still desperate to have a baby, and that will never change.

Transition: Finally, we will discuss some of the solutions that can help the issue.

C. There are several effective ways to help stop teenage pregnancies.
• Obviously, the first choice would be abstinence. This is the only way to be 100% sure that you will not get pregnant, but most people who are already sexually active don’t like this choice.
• Girls, at this age, you can talk to your doctors on your own and obtain birth control pills such as Yaz or Seasonique. If you do happen to find yourself in a situation where you would need it, Plan B is always available at the pharmacy. Plan B is simply a higher dose of a birth control drug.
• Another very obvious option is condoms. I understand that it is embarrassing to be seen buying condoms at the store, but honestly is it worth risking having a baby to save yourself a little embarrassment? They are cheap and there are a large variety of them. All around a much better option than risking getting pregnant.

Transition: By learning about the issue of teenage pregnancy we can reduce the subject of kids having kids.

III. Conclusion

A. No matter what we do there is no way to completely eliminate teenage pregnancy.
B. Kids are going to have sex no matter what because, well, they are kids. They want to feel grown up. But we can take certain steps to try to reduce the number of young pregnancies.
C. So, next time you find yourself in a situation similar to this, just remember, don’t be silly, wrap your willy!