The Morning After Pill

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The Morning After Pill

The emergency contraception pill, often wrongly called the abortion pill, is a solution to the high teen pregnancy rate in the USA. There were 521,826 teen mothers in the United States in 1990 (Adolescent pregnancy 2). The United States also has the highest rate of pregnancy, abortion, and childbirth among teenagers than any other country (McKeown 1). Also, the Untied States spends an unbelievable 7 billion dollars a year on teen pregnancy costs (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy 1). Not only does teen pregnancy cause problems for the babies of these mothers, and the United States tax payers, but the teen mothers themselves suffer too. Teen mothers are less likely to finish high school and are at a greater risk of abusing or neglecting their children (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy 2). Teen pregnancy is a flaw in the United States that is not going away, but getting worse with every generation. Despite attempts to educate children about sex, contraception and abstinence the rate of teen pregnancy is still extremely high. The emergency contraception pill, ECP, is a good solution for these pregnant teenage girls and for the United States tax payers.

An argument that most people have is that the emergency contraception pill is an "abortion pill," and should not be used to combat teen pregnancy. This assumption is not an accurate one. The emergency contraception pill is not anything like the RU-486 pill, which is known as the "abortion pill." The way the RU-486 works, is when taken a chemical abortion occurs (Mathewes-Green 1). The pill can be taken up to 63 days from the first day of a woman's period. The way the RU-486 forces an abortion is when the pill is taken i...

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...age patients both male and female, the pill would become more well known and used. This would cause the high rate of teen pregnancy to drop. If doctors would also explain how the ECP pills are not an abortion pill, people would be more likely to accept and take the pill in an emergency situation.

The ECP is the only true hope the USA has against fighting teen pregnancy and its expensive costs. The ECP is not an abortion pill and is not interfering with reproduction. The method in which the pill is taken is quite simple, when explained by a doctor. The pill is effective in preventing pregnancy and just needs to be advertised more to inform more people. The ideal situation would be for teens to abstain from sex or to use birth control effectively. Yet, this is not happening. The ECP is the only way the USA can get the problem of teen pregnancy under control.

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