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Should 13 year old girls be able to get the pill?

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Reply 60

Jimbo1234

Original post by The Baron

Why the hell not. It is better than having pergnant 13 year olds who would go on to be Jeremy Kyle fodder

Because letting them have the pill means you are advocating child abuse.

What should be happening is finding out why the hell 13 year old girls want to have sex in the first place!

Original post by Moiraclaire

YES. They should be allowed the pill. No children unless your over 22, married, or both, would lead to a more stable future generation, a stronger economy and better culture.

Obviously, 13 year old's shouldn't be having sex, but if there are no children, and they're having sex with each other (not adults) then there is more harm then good in not giving them the pill.

Look above. So you think it is fine to tell a 13 year old to go out and get raped?

Reply 61

tc92

Original post by hannaaahlima

Yes. If they really want to have sex, they will have sex with or without the pill. Not enabling them to get the pill will only increase the chances of them getting pregnant. The fact that they are not taking the pill is not gonna stop them from having sex.

Should we provide burglars with free protective clothing so they don't hurt themselves when breaking in to someone's house? Just because someone's going to break the law anyway, doesn't mean we should spend taxpayers' money protecting them whilst they do so.

Either that or change the law. You simply cannot have a state where the law says the age of consent is 16 and the government permits something completely contradictory.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 62

tc92

Original post by Emielle

If anyone (read: males) can buy condoms regardless of age, why is the pill any different? It's contraception.

Surely the question then is whether or not it's right for males to be able to buy condoms at age 13? If the law wrongly permits one group of people to do something, it's surely better to stop them doing that than to enable everyone else to act wrongly as well. If you deem giving contraception to 13 year olds to be wrong, that is.

Reply 63

RevolutionIsNear!

Absolute madness! Isn't the age of consent 16? Do they honestly believe that by giving the pill to 13 year old girls it'd act as an deterrent from sex? Ha! It would be the equivalent to giving a bag of sweets to a child and expecting them not to eat any. It wouldn't deter, it would encourage (and they'd be breaking the law by the way). Personally I'd like to see the age of consent raised to 18 years old, currently, it's fine to have sex at 16 years of age yet at the same age you can't go the cinema and watch a film which contains sexual content! Madness, utter madness.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 64

RollerBall

Original post by Jimbo1234

Because letting them have the pill means you are advocating child abuse.

What should be happening is finding out why the hell 13 year old girls want to have sex in the first place!

Look above. So you think it is fine to tell a 13 year old to go out and get raped?

Oh look, another clown who doesn't understand the "statutory rape" laws in this country. Advocating child abuse? What lunacy.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 65

iJess

Original post by New...Romantic

To be clear, this is about the contraceptive pill and not the MAP.

I'm really torn on this subject. If it would reduce teenage pregnancy then that's a good thing but as people have said it might encourage teenage sex and increase STIs. Young girls can already be prescribed the pill by their GP so I'm not sure I see the benefits of offering this through a pharmacy. I'd have thought that girls who need it for their skin/to regulate their periods or who are using it for contraception but are mature enough to use it properly would just go to the doctor.

Pharmacies are great for providing quick and accessible services like the MAP and free condoms but the contraceptive pill doesn't always work straight away so it's not the kind of thing girls should be able to wander in to get on a whim.

The pill should be free unless it's for your skin. My check up at the GP consists of them asking me how I'm getting on with it, taking my blood pressure and asking a few questions about family history and my lifestyle. Pharmacists are health professionals and would be more than capable of doing this.

Oh well the pharmacy where I live DON'T give you health check ups if you're buying it. You just buy it and that's it.

The pill doesn't suit everyone anyway the first pill I went on (Microgynon 30) was a nightmare. It gave me depression, a lot of weight gain and I was very moody. Loestrin was better and now I'm on Mercilon which is a miracle. Would 13 year olds be happy with side effects such as weight gain in our society? hmm

Reply 66

Tahooper

Certainly less stressful than having an abortion, which could lead to mental health problems in later life.

Reply 67

Tahooper

Original post by Jimbo1234

What should be happening is finding out why the hell 13 year old girls want to have sex in the first place!

Oh, I dunno, it could be due to the fact that... they are going through puberty?

Hormones are starting to be released at that age, so of course girls and boys are going to start to have sexual feelings.

Reply 68

Clare~Bear

13 year olds can get it on a prescription already if it's for painful/ irregular periods or some other stuff like acne. So I'm sure if they really wanted to use it as contracpetion they could go to the doctor about painful/irregular periods and get it anyways.

Anyway, we only see this from our cultures point of view. Other countries have an age of consent of 13 or 14. It doesn't mean that they're wrong, just because it's different to what we think.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 69

sclez1

I'm all for it. 13 year olds won't think: "oh, Im going to have sex because I'm on the pill" - if they want to do it, they'll do it regardless. The issue here is do we want lots of 13 year olds having sex with contraception, or lots of 13 year olds having sex and getting pregnant.

Reply 70

miniteen

Would something other than the pill be possible? They're only 13, they're likely to forget the pill. What if intrauterine devices were implanted instead? Would it work?

Reply 71

JessNurden

I think they should.
If girls are going to be having sex at 13, no-one is likely to change their mind.
At least this way they can have peace of mind that there is less of a chance to fall pregnant.
I don't think it'll encourage girls to have sex early though.

Reply 72

technocrat

The issue here is why arent we arresting people for statutory rape.

Saying that, i agree with the trial, most 13 year old girls should go to their parents first, if thats not possible due to parents being ****e or druggies or w/e then go to GP, but if you cant do that then i would rather them have sex without getting pregnant than nothing. Also the pharmacist would be able to give them some limited advice...

i see it as a last ditch safety net.

but seriously, why arent we arresting people for statutory rape.

and on a slight tangent why dont we flog rapists

Reply 73

Jimbo1234

Original post by Tahooper

At that age they still shouldn't be sexually active, hence why some could die if they did become pregnant.
There is a massive difference between minor sexual arousal, and ****ing someone. The problem is that they have no support from their parents and feel neglected, thus try to compensate for it by sleeping about as early as possible. Giving these kids the pill is simply advocating under-age sex and not tackling the real problem.

Original post by RollerBall

Oh look, another clown who doesn't understand the "statutory rape" laws in this country. Advocating child abuse? What lunacy.

Oh, so you think it is perfectly normal and fine for 13 year olds to sleep about? :rolleyes:

Because that is not physically or mentally dangerous and is not hiding from the real problem - why the hell are 13 year olds having sex?!

Reply 74

canŵio

i don't think most 13 year olds will remember to take the pill - i started when i was 18 and i had to set an alarm on my phone to remind me, because i found it hard to remember every day.
if they don't take it properly there's not much point taking it at all - they'd be better off going to a doctor to get the implant or something.

but i thought you could get the pill at 13? i know lots of people who got it for their periods etc, and i'm sure you're allowed for contraception too.

Reply 75

username305809

Original post by prema32

"Girls as young as 13 should be able to walk into a high-street chemist and get the contraceptive pill if they want it".

It's a pretty hot topic at the moment, and I was just wondering what everyone's opinions are - will it just make it easier to have sex and therefore encourage sex from such a young age, at an age that for most girls is just after puberty?? Or will it prevent unwanted teen pregnancies??

Lets start the debate :smile:

For me its so two sided.

On the one hand, it is less likely that there will be teen pregnancies...

On the other, THIRTEEN YEARS OLD?!?!?!?! I mean in Year 7 we are expected to act like adults: quote from all teachers "your not in primary school anymore" (which I HATED). But such an age where most girls will be starting their periods, hormones going everywhere alongside emotions, taking the pill is the last thing that should be added into the mix! Especially as some people become depressed whilst starting it etc...

Perhaps an age of more 15 would be appropriate. But 13... I just can't believe people would suggest it :/ :confused:

Reply 76

angel_delight

I personally think 13 is too young to be having sex and that they are just children but unfortunately children as young as 13 are having sex. They dont just hand them out to every 13 year old though, they have to understand the implications and the people prescribing do state how important parental support is and also I think would people would suggest that they went double dutch anyway to support against sti's. Under the law everyone has access to this, but other ways need to be done to prove to young girls that they should really wait until they are ready and not just because of peer pressure.

Yes.

If they know what the pill is and they walk into a pharmacy in order to request that specifically then nothing you do will stop them from having sex.

So yes, they should be allowed to do that.

But they should teach kids in school that the pill doesn't protect you from STDs.

Reply 79

TheHistoryStudent

Personally I don't believe the often repeated conservative (I don't mean the tory party btw) and/or religious argument that XYZ proposal will give a liscence for something bad - in this case underage promiscuity. Said argument has been trotted out over and over again on issues like sex, marriage, motherhood, family and so on over the past 100 or so years, and the end result has never been the so called break down of society or whatever extreme and impossible argument they like to spout.

This proposal, while I must admit I do not necessarily agree with it - since underage girls (and boys) can only engage in sex illegally anyway may well have a positive impact in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies, as provided kids who want to engage in sex know about contraception and know they can get it, it will be available and so can prevent them from becoming pregnant (I assume they'll get advice when they get the contraception on how to use it).

I think the wider issue behind this though is the fact that underage kids are having sex in the first place... as I say I don't think this will promote promiscuity below 16, but I do think kids should be discouraged from having sex before 16, and while this proposal may have benefits in that it may cut teen pregnancy, I think it may also have the effect of possibly legitimising underage sex in the minds of those who are already considering it...

Anyway, thats my 2p.