Planned Parenthood

Abortion Forum

Girls and women are never going to stop exercising their rights to freedom of choice. If abortion is such an acceptable practice, why then can't our governments make it mandatory for all girls between certain ages to have regular injections of depo-provera? Sure, it's dictatorship, but wouldn't it be more effective and morally ethical than abortion?

I think your proposal is a bit extreme. How about aggressive education on the topic of planned parenting? How about better access to and programs that help make contraception affordable for those who want it? I don't know what it's like in Canada but, here in the US, the big push as far as education goes is abstinence. And that is fine, but it is naive to teach abstinence and not also teach about contraception.

I have been on Depo for six years and it has worked great for me. But, a lot of people experience bad side effects, and it is not the birth control of choice for everyone.

Yes, my proposal is a bit extreme, but in my opinion, so is abortion.

I don't know how it is in the U.S, but aggressive sex education and abstinence counseling has been going on since I was in the 6th grade. It hasn't made one bit of difference in the teen pregnancy rate. In Canada, contraception of all kinds, is available to people of all ages. My high school had baskets overflowing with free condoms in the hallways. The same can be said for Canada's Family Planning clinics. They educate kids and adults on all aspects of contraception, safer sex and abstinence. They hand out an unlimited supply of birth control pills to those who agree to take them. Because of our National Health Care system, every visit to a Doctor's office, hospital or laboratory is covered and there is no fee to pay. There is no lack of sex education in Canada, but sadly, the yearly abortion rate continues to climb.

I understand that Depo-provera is not the birth control of choice for many people, but the idea of an injectable method of birth control, is something worth considering for teenage girls whose minds are not fully capable of making a planned parenthood decision.

Yes, depo-provera has some bad side effects, but how does a botched abortion or infection affect a person's chances of future conception?

I agree with you that is is naive to educate people about abstinence and not about contraception. Either way, all the education in the world doesn't matter to a drunk 15 year old with raging hormones and lack of judgment. All of which has led far too many people to abortion clinics.

Well, that is sad that with Canada's national health care plan and a sensible approach to teaching family planning, that the abortion rate continues to rise. In the US, there is no national health care plan and afford-ability of birth control options is definitely a factor as is access to contraception. Also, as I mentioned, our educational plan on the topic is terribly naive.

I don't know what did it for me. I always felt that it was important to wait until I was at least out of high school, before I had sex...but, it was probably because I had teenage parents and I saw first-hand the hardships that can lead to.

Do you know what percentage of abortions in Canada can be attributed to teenage pregnancy? Is the teenage pregnancy rate also rising?

what a strange coincidence that teenage-pregnancy is rising, and so is the tolerance that teens should be able to "explore their sexuality"

parents: tell your children-- DON'T HAVE SEX

Remind your children everyday of the burden of carrying a child for 9 months, then changing diapers and getting up in the middle of the night to feed an infant, then answering incessent bratty questions of toddlers

then remind them that their sexual irresponsibility will, a little over decade down the road, when they want to be free and having a good time, they will have an angry, rebellious teenager to deal with.

Then tell them to look in the mirror.

Their sex drive will decrease dramatically. Trust me.

very simple.

Yours Truly
-Dekka

not to mention the utter expensiveness of raising a child








oh wait but when you can just go get an abortion.. it's all good right?



if maintaining your lifestyle requires sacrificing an embryo/fetus... I think it is reasonable to say your lifestyle needs a change.



Birth control=self control.

Dekka00 said this in post #5 :
what a strange coincidence that teenage-pregnancy is rising, and so is the tolerance that teens should be able to "explore their sexuality"


Very well said!! I agree with you completely!! There is too much tolerance for teenage sexual exploration!


parents: tell your children-- DON'T HAVE SEX


Have you ever rebelled against authority? Did you always obey everything your parents told you to do or not to do?

If there are parents in this world still willing to instill traditional family and moral values in their children, then that is highly commendable!

If there are children willing to accept traditional family and moral values in the 21st century, then they are the people I want to see as our future world leaders!

But what about those whose biggest moral influence is society?
Our world is morally rapidly declining. The proof of that is all around us.





No apology required for your angry right-winged rant. A total left-wing radical is in complete agreement with you.

Thanks for the stats, theway...

I wonder how the the stats in Canada compare with the US. I'm going to try and find them. I would expect that a National Health Care plan would have Canada's stats lower than the US but, I guess we'll see. It would be a shame if that were not true.

It is interesting the different rates for the different providences. Do you know if different abortion regulations exist in the various providences, that could be effecting these stasts?

I still would like to see stats on teenage pregnancy for Canada...to see if it too, has been increasing. I tried searching at that site but, couldn't find anything.

The unfortunate truth is that socio-economics plays a huge role in the Provincial abortion rates. Although Canada has an excellent health care system, there are many under-educated people whose main source of income is welfare. The abortion rates are higher in Provinces that have a higher population of high school drop outs and welfare recipients. If only the Canadian government would put as much funding toward higher education as they do toward abortion, people, like the people of The First Nations, may have a better chance to climb the social ladder, which may, in turn, reduce the abortion rate.

I'll keep looking for the teen pregnancy statistics.

They have classes here where teens are given those dolls that are fake babies and they have to keep them with them for a week or two. The dolls are just like real babies, they need food, sleep, love, attention, they cry, they do everything normal babies, but it's fake. To stop them crying you have to hold a key in their back until they stop, sometimes they stop straight away, sometimes they don't. The dolls have sensors in them to tell the teacher if they were dropped or thrown around or anything like that.

Some info:

Thanks Smigg!
Now I have those stats for US vs Canada. I'm not surprised at all that the US leads all developed nations...our health care is rated LAST among developed nations (last time I checked).

But in addition to better healthcare and better access to and education regarding pregnancy and parenting...I think this program is awesome. People always nag me about having kids and I hear such lame-brain things like, "But babies are SO cute!"...um yes, and they are even cuter when they don't wake me up in the middle of the night crying and when they don't cost me money. I don't think that some people, especially young people, really realize what is involved.

Thanks Schmiggens!

It's a very interesting concept. Even more interesting if it helps people make a more informed decision!

I'm very sorry you've had such trouble with depo-provera!! I guess, like anything, there is still a considerable amount of research that needs to be done on the newer methods of birth control.

Have you tried any of the other ones?

I remember when Canada experimented with making teens take care of a 10 lb bag of sugar. The objective was very much like the baby doll experiment you mentioned. They scrapped that idea when they discovered that the teens responsible for caring for the bags of sugar would spend their "parenting" time smoking weed and using the sugar for a "home economics" project when they got the "munchies"!!

The doll sounds like a much more reliable experiment!

Anomaly77,

I think it's great that you are the proud owner of your decision!! You know where you stand on the subject, and you've taken every precaution necessary to not fall into the sad statistic category of unplanned/unwanted pregnancies!! It's very admirable!!

I have to agree with Anomaly and Schmig on this. I too had serious adverse effects from the depo shot. Because each person's body chemistry is different, each person will react differently to certain medicines. For some, the depo shot works very well, for others, it's a living nightmare.
Forcing all teenaged girls onto birth control of any kind, (be it pill or shot) will intrude on their constitutional rights. It may be a good idea for those who choose to be promiscuous, but what about the ones who choose not to have sex, opting to wait instead? (Like Anomaly) Cattle herding girls to the doctor to force them into a controlled environment is asking for trouble of both the legal sense and general health.
Education and active parental involvment is the only way of prevention. There is no way to abolish abortion in total.

Your opinion on the matter is very much appreciated!

Depo-provera was just a suggestion. If there is ever a time that an injectable method of birth control can be termed safe without any adverse medical problems, I thought it might be of importance, or at least worth considering as a means of not having to deal with the abortion issue at all.

I am a pro-lifer, and although people who are pro-choice will disagree with me, I am led by my belief that all human beings, from the time of conception, are entitled to their constitutional rights. Doesn't abortion violate that right?

I think that question is a matter for a new thread. As for the teenaged girls, even if there were a birth control method that was mastered to be 100% effective and caused no side effects, it would still hinder the constitutional rights of teenaged girls by forcing them to use it. Like I said, it would be a great concept for those young ladies who choose to be sexually active at a young age, but since it would be a program that would have to target all teenaged girls, (because targeting only specific groups would be considered discriminating) it would trample on the rights of teenagers who choose not to be sexually active. It would expose the latter of the two to medical treatment that is not only unwanted, but unneccessary. Like I said, it's a good idea, but in all fairness it's not taking into consideration the rights of all the girls in question.
Hypothetically, if such a government run program were to exist, wouldn't it also be mandatory for teenage males to have vasectomies? If we limit it to only girls then we face a major problem...not only will we be telling them that they are not in control of their bodies and health, but that their male counter parts will have no consequence to their choices. With the civil liberties of teenaged girls and boys on the line, no one would be safe. Soon there would be mandatory birth control for single women and mandatory vasectomies for single men. Where would it end?
The abortion issue is one that many people are passionate about, and rightfully so. However when the government steps in and decides that abortion is illegal, that simply puts more lives at risk by subjecting women with unwanted pregnancies to back alley abortions. It's a nice concept to think that by outlawing it and making birth control mandatory, that the issue of abortion would disappear alltogether. But unfortunately that's an unrealistic expectation on today's society.

I truly don't see how that question is a matter for a new thread.

The question of constitutional rights was entered into this. So if we're going to discuss the constitutional rights of people who have the power to abort, we might as well discuss the constitutional rights of the people who are being aborted.

If mandatory birth control ever becomes an issue, then we most certainly should discuss a birth control method for men too. Bringing vasectomies into the equation is not exactly fair. I never suggested that girls should have mandatory hysterectomies!! I would question my own sanity if I were to suggest something so extreme and barbaric!

I haven't really considered mandatory birth control for single women and men. Most people who have reached a certain level of maturity are more than capable of controlling which method of birth control to use, if they choose to use any at all. But since it is about the maturity, I would naturally assume that an adult mind and level of awareness would fully understand the whole concept of cause and effect. Clearly, you, Anomaly77 and Schmiggens understand that concept very well. That is highly admirable!!

Not everyone is afforded the capability have having such strong personal convictions!

You're right! The abortion issue is one that many people are passionate about! You don't think the government has the right to step in and make abortion illegal. But why did government have the right to step in and legalize abortion in the first place?

Back alley abortions are known to have tragic and sometimes fatal circumstances. You may read about the number of deaths each year that are directly related to pregnancy, but what those reports don't tell you, is that a large percentage of those deaths occurred while the woman was undergoing the very safe, ethical, legal, medically supervised procedure of abortion.

I do believe there should always be doctors who can perform safe abortions in certain, special cases. But using abortion as a method of birth control has just become far too widely available and acceptable. As long as the option to have an abortion is available, people are going to keep viewing it as a reason to not use contraception.

Ya know...upon further contemplation of the mass birth control idea...do you think it could have the reverse effect? What I mean is...result in MORE teenage pregnancies and more spread of STDs? Being on birth control might cause young girls to have a false sense of security...a feeling like they are "safe".
-Just a thought.

we need to teach children the only 100% effective birth control























































anal sex

ewww

And I'm sure most of the male population would agree with you on that one, Dekka!

Dekka you're a sick, sick man. LOL

Schmigg, I agree, there are some women out there who use abortion as their regular birth control. The percentage among all women receiving abortions is incredibly small, but it does happen. I think that's dispicable. I think in cases like that, with multiple abortions, there should be a law making sterilization mandatory. It sounds harsh, but think of the money it would save the medical community...not to mention it would cease the seeking of constant abortions. Just out of curiosity Schmigg, were those women prostitutes?

Hmm, good question chel. I never thought of that. It's a very likely possibility.

Something that may prove worthwhile in the very near future, is oral contraception for men. Although vasectomies can be used for men's birth control, I am very hesitant about supporting anything that requires surgery, even though it's minimally invasive.


Unisex Contraception

One of the methods of reversible contraception being developed may be appropriate for both women and men. A new group of drugs known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, can be used to prevent the release of FSH and LH from the pituitary gland. The release of FSH and LH triggers ovulation and spermatogenesis - the development of sperm. Blocking the release of these hormones will temporarily suppress fertility for both men and women.


There is a group of people who are doing a trial experiment with these drugs. So far, the results have been very safe and effective. Currently, any long term adverse affects are not known. It could take another three years for FDA approval.

It's about time!

I completely agree with you!

They have been experimenting with it and making improvements on it for a few years already, but that still doesn't prove its safety.

It's still in the making. Even if they reach a point where they feel they have perfected it, I'm sure there will still be reports of it working wonders for some and not for others.

That it's in the development stage at all, is proof that the unwanted pregnancy and abortion rates have reached an unfortunate all time high.