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Brandon Floyd
Professor Name
Course Name
16 November 2017
Children Having Abortions
Young women ages sixteen to eighteen, with the appropriate health insurance and funds,
should not need parental consent to get an abortion. There are several extenuating circumstances that
could allow a woman to get an abortion without parental consent. Some of these circumstances include;
rape, income, family situations or lack thereof. These situations and more are reasons that a young
woman, ages sixteen to eighteen should be allowed an abortion without family or adult consent.
Young women ages sixteen to eighteen are more than likely to have nothing more than a part-
time job and are probably sophomore level to senior level students in high school. These are not ideal
situations for raising a child. Raising a child, especially in the year of 2017, is extremely expensive. There
are even middle-class, dual-income families that struggle to support themselves and their children.
According to Time Magazine, the cost of raising a child in the year of 2017 has risen to approximately
$230,000 over the course of eighteen years. This, of course, is not a spot-on number, just a rough
estimate on how much one could spend on just one child over the course of their life if they gave birth
in 2017. “In many cases, researchers have sought to establish links between teen childbearing and socio-
economic disadvantage. For example, an international comparative study of teenage sexual behavior in
five developed countries (Canada, U.S.A., France, Sweden, U.K.) found that in all five countries there was
a strong negative association between level of educational attainment and bearing a child before the
age of 20 (Darroch, Frost, Singh et al., 2000).” (McKay, 157). Teens that are financially disadvantaged
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have a higher chance of getting pregnant because of multiple reasons; No health insurance, not
educated on contraceptive methods, among other things. With health insurance, birth control is easily
accessible. Without it, there are ways to obtain birth control and other contraceptives; especially
condoms, for free. Sometimes the opportunity presents itself, and other times, the person in need will
have to go searching, but there is always options even if they are not in plain sight. For example,
Planned Parenthood is known for giving out free condoms during business hours and has ways for young
women to receive the birth-control pill for free. That information is public knowledge but not always
taught to be looked for.
One of the biggest arguments in the controversial discussion about abortion in general and
more importantly, teen abortion is the “R” word. Rape. One in six women will or have experienced some
form of unconsented sexual assault in their lifetime, according to Rainn.org. Rainn.org also states that
