More resources to help prevent teen pregnancy should be available in schools, whether this means having condoms, birth control pamphlets, Plan B, and pregnancy tests available in the counseling office or nurses’ office. These resources should be more readily available to our students. Teen pregnancy is a large issue in the United States and our community.
In the United States alone, there are 3.6 million births (as of 2023) each year. 3.6% of those births are from teens aged 15-19. The United States teen birth rate is 13.9 out of 1,000. If you compare this to the UK, France, Canada, and Sweden, the U.S. is significantly higher. In Washington state, the teen birth rate is 9.7 births per 1,000. Compared to the highest state (Mississippi at 24.9) and the lowest state (New Hampshire at 4.6), Washington state is on the bottom, but still not the lowest.
PREVALENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY
Chelan and Douglas counties have a teen birth rate of 5.8 teens out of 1,000. There is also a higher amount of teen pregnancies in the Hispanic student populations. Hispanic teens have a teen birth rate that is about double the amount of white students (about 10.8). Also, rural communities see a larger number of teen pregnancies than urban ones. Even though in the last few years we have seen a decline in teen births, the numbers are slowly starting to increase again. From the year 2007 to 2021, the decline was at about 79%. From 2021 to the last one in 2023, the rate is staying steady and slowly creeping up.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Teens who get pregnant are more likely not to finish high school, which can lead to hardships in getting a job. “For example, approximately 90% of women who do not give birth during adolescence graduate from high school, whereas about 50% of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by 22 years of age”(congress.gov). Teen parents are also more likely to have kids who struggle with poor education, poor behavior, and poor physical health. Children of teen parents are also more likely to struggle in their future, and it starts a cycle that is hard to stop. Women of teen parents are more likely to become teen parents themselves. Men of teen parents are more likely to be incarcerated due to less positive parental influences. While this cycle is not accurate for all children of teen parents, it is true for many.
Part of the reason teen pregnancy is so relevant is the lack of education and resources for teens. If teens are not properly taught about teen pregnancy and safe sexual habits, they will not follow them. “…researchers have found that the proportion of teens who receive formal sex education has changed little in recent years, and that teens are less likely to be instructed on topics such as how to access contraception, how to refuse sex, and/or how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs)” (NIH.gov). Even if teens are properly taught about these topics, the lack of easily available resources can cause many teen pregnancies. Teens may not have an adult they feel comfortable talking to about these issues. This can lead to struggles obtaining things such as emergency contraceptives, condoms, birth control, and pregnancy tests.
Cheap contraceptives are hard to come by, which is why they’re often stolen. Two pregnancy tests at Target cost $17 for the cheapest and most generic brand. A pack of 12 condoms at Target costs between $8-12. One Plan B pill (emergency contraceptive) is about $40. Emergency contraceptives are often locked up behind a case or with a pharmacist because of stealing rates. Teens who are trying to make responsible decisions after the fact often cannot because of the embarrassment of having to ask a staff member to get the emergency contraceptive or because they do not have the funds to purchase it. Teens are at their weakest in these moments and need to be able to obtain them easily.
Birth control can be obtained in Washington without a parent knowing, but you have to have income to allow for this. One month’s worth of generic birth control (pill) costs between $18 and $234. This is if you are paying without insurance. You also have to get transportation to and from a clinic that provides these services.
While some people argue that we should not have these contraceptives available in schools because providing them goes behind parents’ backs and undermines their authority, this is just not true. Parents can be notified that the school is offering these resources to all students. They also argue that having resources available tells teens that they can have sex sooner. I believe that if we fully educate teens, they can make their own decisions on when they are ready to have sex. Even if adults tell their children not to have sex, their children will still find a way. That brings up a question: would you rather a teen have unsafe or safe sex? If teens are going to have sex, they should have resources to do it safely and with a lower risk of pregnancy and STIs.
Resources should be provided in schools, and it is something Cashmere High School should think about offering to students. The benefits of this would be great. If teens were educated more about safe sex practices and had easy-to-acquire condoms, pregnancy tests, emergency contraceptives, and birth control resources, teen pregnancy rates would go down, therefore increasing the number of teens who graduate and go on to become successful.
Works Cited
“Chelan-Douglas Trends.” Chelandouglastrends.com, 2023, chelandouglastrends.com/graph.cfm?cat_id=5&sub_cat_id=2&ind_id=1. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Godoy, Maria. “Emergency Contraception Pills Are Safe and Effective, but Not Always Available.” NPR, 28 June 2022, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/06/28/1105830606/emergency-contraception-pills.
Marsh, Tori. “Welcome to Zscaler Directory Authentication.” Goodrx.com, 2025, www.goodrx.com/conditions/birth-control/annual-cost-of-birth-control?srsltid=AfmBOopw3PGYLsbKcKKOlKbP56oa2-dTvls3nmAHpgUxog2xx1POY8It. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
Mickler, Alexandria, and Jessica Tollestrup. “Teen Birth Trends: In Brief.” Congress.gov, 2025, www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45184.
Reilly, Kristen, et al. “Removing Barriers to Contraceptive Access for Adolescents.” The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics : JPPT, vol. 29, no. 3, 1 June 2024, pp. 331–335, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11163908/, https://doi.org/10.5863/1551-6776-29.3.331.
