Birth control can be an awkward topic of conversation. Often times, adolescents are not comfortable enough talking about birth control with guardians or friends, and yet they are ready to become sexually active. People have the false notion that if we talk about sex, it’s going to lead to teenagers being more sexually active, but honestly, teenagers are going to do what they want to despite the conversation; so they should be given all the information they need to make the best choices. If females truly want to avoid unplanned pregnancies, then trusting that a condom will be available (and used) at the moment needed is just not a reliable plan.

Over this last summer, Congress passed a bill that will allow pharmacists to dispense long-term birth control in Oregon and California, according to Slate Magazine. By making birth control easier to access, this will decrease the amount of unwanted pregnancies and is therefore beneficial to society as a whole (slate.com).

According to the About Contraception website, if you are 17 years of age or older you can currently buy emergency birth control pills. These pills, also know as Plan B or the morning after pill, merely stop pregnancies after unprotected sex. However, these pills are not to be used as an everyday birth control pill (contrception.about.com). Journalist Jane Smith for Reality Check stated, “Emergency contraception works well as a safety net, it’s true. But it’s still far less effective at preventing pregnancy than most other methods of birth control” (realitycheck.org). This being said, emergency contraceptives are a good resource, but by making an everyday birth control pill readily available would be a much better solution.

Obviously, making birth control more convenient to obtain would decrease the amount of unwanted pregnancies. Often times these pregnancies occur among adolescent who either don’t know how to obtain birth control or are not comfortable enough to talk to a parent about birth control options. According to the Office of Adolescent Health, “In 2013, there were 26.5 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 273,105 babies born to females in this age group.” This jarring statics represents the growing need for an increse of access to birth control (officeofadolsecenthealth.com). Senior Alicia Gregor stated, “There are so many cases of teen pregnancies just because girls can’t get the birth control because they don’t want to ask their parents or they just can’t get their hands on it.” Teens who want to have sex are going to have sex. That doesn’t mean they want a pregnancy. The new bill will mean they can prevent it from happening.

Similarly, this decrease in unwanted pregnancies has an economic upside as well. Many politicians believe that decreasing the amount of unwanted pregnancies will help the nation’s economy greatly. State Representative Knute Buehler stated, “I feel strongly that this is what’s best for women’s health in the 21st century, and I also feel it will have repercussions for decreasing poverty because one of the key things for women in poverty is unintended pregnancy” (nytimes.com). By making birth control easier to access will also allow the country’s economy to flourish.

Making birth control easier to access has major benefits; however, it does not mean that teens should stop seeing their doctors once becoming sexually active. It is important to discuss all options with your doctor so that, not only teens but everyone, can has the safest sex possible. Having said that, not everyone can afford to visit a doctor or feels comfortable enough to discuss their options, and that is why this new birth control law will help women be in control of their bodies and their futures.