The UK’s Daily Mail runs a piece this morning regarding Tracey Stevens, a 45 year old woman who is reportedly Britain’s first victim of a health scandal regarding faulty and potentially life-threatening breast implants. The Daily Mail states that:
Ah, the argument over contraception continues.
The UK’s Daily Express recently reported that at the urging of family planning officials, doctors have been recommending that girls as young as thirteen consider long term birth-control options such as shots and implants.
Obviously this has sparked the usual debate between those who think that this offering of contraception will encourage promiscuity, and those who believe that it is important to offer women the choice to prevent unwanted pregnancy and promote the appropriate use of contraceptives.
As a sex educator I am inclined to agree with the latter, however, I have a few reasons why I would disagree with the offering of long term contraceptive options … that don’t include the age old promiscuity argument.
Depo Provera, or “The Shot,” is a method of birth control in which huge amounts of the progestin hormone are given to an individual via injection every three months. This version of birth control is useful, especially in impoverished areas of the world where women either cannot afford birth control pills and/or their husbands refuse to wear condoms. It is a long lasting, cost effective method of birth control. However, let me reiterate: Depo Provera is three months worth of a hormone being put into your body in your body that you can’t get rid of. Which can cause a multitude of problems including bone loss and osteoporosis, anxiety or worsening of pre-existing emotional/mental health conditions, irregular menstrual bleeding, delayed return of fertility, and birth defects. Other studies suggest that it is potentially life threatening.
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