Adoption Is an Option The first question a teenager asks after getting a positive pregnancy test is, “What am I going to do with the baby? ” There are three options to consider: getting an abortion, keeping the baby, or giving it up for adoption. Abortion is probably the worst and most dangerous, followed closely by the decision to keep the baby, which Is also dangerous and very expensive. Adoption Is the safest, least expensive, smartest choice to make, and is the most emotionally healthy decision for a teenager.
Teenagers tend to fail to grasp the reality of their actions and the consequences of their choices. In an adolescent’s mind, it’s not a big deal to have sex, as long as no one knows. They have low self-estimation of risk factors and consider themselves “Invulnerable” (Personal, Web). According to E. Rallying, a family physician, “Adolescents harbor the unrealistic perception that they are Invulnerable to pregnancy and may therefore not use contraceptives on a regular basis” (Impel 26). Teenagers also have poor self-estimates of the future.
Alexander Properties recently id a study on teens and what they expected would be their future. For example, “63% of the teens who were not enrolled in school had, one year earlier, indicated a 0% chance of this occurring” (Properties, Web). When a teenager becomes pregnant, abortion Is always considered. However, It Is the most dangerous action to take. According to Leslie Cannoned, “Recent statistics show that nearly 50 percent of doctors who used to perform abortions in the united States have simply closed up shop. Many have been unable to afford … To practice safely (Cannoned 18-19).
The percentages of those in support of abortion continue to drop over the years due to the danger and immorality of it. Abortions are not much safer than they used to be and the prices for them continue to climb. Abortions are so expensive because those who perform receive low wages. In fact, according to Canola’s research, many gynecologist are giving up the abortion profession because it is “both low-status and relatively low-paid work” (Cannoned 19). Gary Miscue’s research says that “over the last decade, more than 500 U. S. Hospitals and clinics have stopped offering abortion services” (McCann 14).
The danger of abortion is very real, but so is the diminishing legality of it. “The continuing legal ambiguity has not, on the whole, Impeded women’s access to a safe- though somewhat pricey- first-trimester abortion service” (Cannoned 19). According to Oliver Tracer, “Most people would also agree that the 1. 6 million legal abortions a year in this country are too many” (Tracer 151). Another problem teenagers will face with abortion is the morality and ethics of it. It may not seem like an important issue at the time, but afterwards when a teenager needs therapy for years, abortion won’t seem like the est. option.
Nora Pill interviewed some mothers on their experiences being had to face up to the awful reality that abortion was not about ‘products of conception’ or ‘missed periods. ‘ It was about children being killed in their mother’s Numbs” (Pill 46). In another interview with Norma McElroy, she says, “In God’s Nor, love has no limits. In the world of abortion, limits determine life” (Pill 48). To McElroy and most other women who have had or are considering having an abortion, you either take the path of God and life or take the path of abortion and death.
People have gone so far as to say that the fetus is only the “equivalent of a fish” and that aborting is simply “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” (Cannoned 33). According to Cannoned, “A ‘good’ woman would not off-load the responsibility of pregnancy to an artificial womb” (Cannoned 107). If the pregnant teenager does not Ant to have a burden to carry for years to come, a guilty conscience, or a bad name, other options should be considered. Another option to think about for a pregnant teenager is keeping the baby. Unfortunately, adolescent parenting also comes with many health risks.
According to Christina Allowance, “From a health perspective, adolescent mothers have higher rates of poor obstetric and neonatal outcomes than do mothers older than 20 years, such as increased risks for preterm delivery, lower birth rates, and higher neonatal mortality rates” (Allowance, Web). Most first-time parents don’t know very much about parenting. They can only guess how much it will cost to feed and clothe the baby, not to mention medical bills. Unfortunately, teenagers not only don’t know much about this but they don’t know much about providing for themselves either.
A teenager thrust out on their own with no idea how to live on their own let alone how to care for their baby is a frightening concept and a disaster waiting to happen. Pregnant teenagers must not only think about the present and the few months after they give birth, but long term health consequences and problems in society as well. According to Allowance, “Pregnancies and resulting births to adolescent mothers create serious public health challenges with both short- and longer-term health and social consequences” (Allowance, Web). In addition, the health risks are not only to the adolescent mother, but to the baby as well.
Allowance says, “Babies of adolescent mothers are more likely to be underweight, to be premature, and to have lower health assessments and Page scores” (Allowance, N.B.). Aurora Skimming’s research shows that “teenage mothers spend 20% longer in the hospital than women who have children later” (Skimming, Web). According to Myra H. Impel, Specifically, prenatal medical care is frequently delayed or inadequately delivered … Which has been associated with an increased risk of preterm labor and low infant birth weight. A delay between verification of the pregnancy and first obstetric visit may also place the fetus at risk ….
Low birth weight has been associated with unfavorable maternal health care factors, such as substance abuse, low income, single-parent status, and low educational level (Impel 26). There are also many economic risks for an adolescent mother, with or without a father to support them. According to Allowance, “On average, adolescent mothers are estimated to depend on various forms of public assistance for about one third of their parenting years” (Allowance, Web). Many teenage mothers do not realize that their life can never go back to the way it was after they have chosen to keep the baby.
Suddenly becoming a mother is overwhelming. The responsibilities continue to pile difficult for adolescent fathers to find a Job and a good amount of income. Skimming says, “Adolescent fathers earn 25% less than those who decide to become parents later” (Skimming, Web). It is hard for the boyfriend (or husband if they decide to get married) to understand the needs of a pregnant teenager and mother. He might be angry at the mother or baby for forcing him to put his life on hold. Raising a baby at such a young age will not make for a happy relationship and/or marriage.
There are any things in Jeopardy for teen mothers involving their education, future, and employment. “Consequences for teen mothers include longer periods of loneliness, educational sacrifice, low employment opportunities, and smaller income than those of non-adolescent mothers” (Skimming, Web). Another thing to consider in the case of keeping the baby is the idea of dating again. The father, whether he becomes the husband to the mother or remains the boyfriend, may decide to leave or might not Ant anything to do with the baby and mother at all. It might be hard to date when the teenager has to carry around a baby everywhere she goes.
Even if she does not take it with her on the date, it is baggage that comes with her and not many boys might want to date a single teenage mother. The amount of adolescent mothers who never earn their high school diplomas is about half, and those who never obtain their general equivalency diploma is about a third. The marriage might also be in jeopardy. “In the case of adolescents who got married, the probability that the relationship ends with a divorce is higher than for those who give birth after 20” (Skimming, Web). The children of adolescent parents also have short- and long-term consequences.
Children of adolescent parents are “more likely to be subjected to abuse and neglect and are more likely to enter the foster care system …. They are themselves more likely to become adolescent parents” (Allowance, Web). In addition to the child’s health being in Jeopardy, there are many social consequences involved. For example, “a teenage mother’s child is a potential social assisted person, either directly or indirectly from neglect or mistreatment by the mother, who is not mature enough to understand and to satisfy the baby’s needs” (Skimming, Web). On rare occasion, an adolescent does a good Job in raising her child.
But, “it is generally agreed that adolescent parents are at an increased risk and in need of Intervention” (Allowance, Web). The third option, adoption, comes with more advantages than disadvantages. Abortion and adolescent parenting come with more disadvantages. Jeanne Lindsay says, Loving your baby is crucial …. But having enough money to feed him/her, living in a place you consider okay for both of you, being able to provide medical care for you and your baby – these unexciting things are important (Lindsay 39). Many teenage mothers have testified that they are glad they gave up their baby for adoption, or wish they had.
There are many services available for adopting mothers. According to Crisis Status, “Adoption agencies typically give birth mothers free services, including counseling, legal fees and, in some cases, hospital fees, says Grace Allen, Outreach Coordinator for the Independent Adoption Center, one of the largest open adoption agencies in the U. S. ” (Status, Web). Adoption is also completely legal, whereas abortion might not be legal soon, in some states, and teen parenting can sometimes lead parents to do illegal things in order to get what they need.
According to Skimming, “Miller (1995) professional goals are more likely … O place children for adoption than girls with lower targets in terms of education” (Skimming, Web). Unfortunately, very few teens consider adoption. The younger a teen is, the more likely they are to bond with and decide to keep the baby. Adoption and even the concept of adoption scares them because they think it means giving their baby away to strangers. Many teens who have been pregnant wish that they had had more information, or any at all, on adoption earlier. Jeanne Lindsay interviewed several women on the subject.
A young Oman named Sonic says, “Adoption should be discussed because a lot of them ever even thought about it” (Lindsay 102). The more information they have, the less scary it seems and the more likely they are to choose adoption. A teen mother has a right to know everything she can before she gives her baby away. Education is needed for adoption in order to understand everything that goes into an adoption decision. Veronica, who placed her baby for adoption, says, “l believe that adoption should be open, not Just one letter a year or a picture, but ongoing communication” (Lindsay 52).
