Pregnancy before Marriage - Essay Example

?Pregnancy before Marriage Sexual relations between opposite sexes are the generally and legally accepted among nations. Indeed, the ultimate goal ofany relationship is to get intimacy. There are no conclusive answers on when to start having sex, and with whom. However, the religious books have addressed this issue in many ways saying that sex befits the married couples. Although culture has its place in matters of family issues like sex and marriage, most traditions are not comfortable talking about sex especially to the teens. Most religions recommend holy matrimonies and condemn premarital sexual relations. Some parents cannot discuss matters of sex, pregnancies, and marriage with their children. Because of this, this crucial topic is left to the children. Though purity seems valuable, abstinence is almost impossible. While some teens only want to enjoy sex, it is true that sex connects two people in body and spirit and thus cannot actualize as just fun. Because of these, there has been a lot of peer influence, commercialization of these topics in movies, magazines and songs that seemingly advice on these matters. This paper will give an account pro and con, state my view on this issue and give reasons for holding the universal appeal. The paper will also consider objections or counter-arguments to my position. In conclusion, the paper will respond to these objections or counter-arguments to my position. Although many governments’ advocate for abstinence and protected sex, these precautions do not matter when love and intimacy takes over. In a world where everybody is having unprotected sex at all stages in life, pregnancies are inevitable. In fact, the proportion of first births to 15-29-year-old women occurring before marriage has almost doubled in the United States since the early 1970s. Other statistics show that, “women who get pregnant before marriages are less likely to marry today than they were in the early 1970s” (DIGEST Web). People claim there is no need of waiting for marriage life to enjoy real sex when they have a trusted partner. In fact, more people are getting pregnant before marriage intentionally or unintentionally. Some people use pregnancies to force their sexual partners into marriage. Thus, the question whether getting pregnant before marriage is right is and has always been in the public domain. It is arguably true that sex is a basic human need that all desire to enjoy with someone they care whether married or not. From a spiritual point of view, Christianity teaches that sex is actually good. In fact, God recommends it (Got questions Web). There are teenagers who seek comfort in sexual relations when they feel incomplete and unappreciated. They engage in sexual relationships that in most cases lead to pregnancies long before they get married. Teens will like to control their lifestyles even when they are under parental care. Hence, when they feel that their parents are exerting too much control in their lives, they seek freedom, support, and affection outside the family. Indeed, they feel emotional security when they engage in sexual relationships with their partners. However, little parental monitoring also promotes premarital sex. Additionally, a parental belief that adolescent sex is appropriate and inevitable fosters premarital relations among the teens. Single parenthood may also contribute to premarital sex (Focus on the family Web). The aftermath of this may lead to pregnancies and diseases. Additionally, some think it is fashionable to engage in sex before marriage because that is the general trend among the teens. Christians and other religions have done little in talking about sex with some avoiding the topic completely. Our cultures assume that there is no control over sex and thus sex has become common before marriage. Actually many Christians are not considering it as a sin. The present lifestyle promotes sexual relationships and pregnancies before marriage. Teens that are in alcohol and drug use are susceptible to premarital sex because they lose control of their conscience and importance in life (Focus on the family Web). The movies, the porn magazines, and the secular songs all predispose young people to premarital sex. Thus, teens who are their customers, are likely to buy their idea and start practicing sex before marriage. The insufficient sex education in our schools also leads to pregnancies before marriage. Because of this, a good number of teenagers are getting pregnant without a guarantee of marriage. However, sex and even pregnancies before marriage is a social evil. Virginity before marriage is highly regarded. Muslims condemn sex before marriage in totality while Christianity expresses God’s reserved intention for sex to be intimate and an expression of love between husband and wife. A negation to these teachings attracts a spiritual separation between the believers of both religions and the goodness of their God (Got questions Web). Actually, sex in the context of marriage brings joy and resounding pleasure. Otherwise, it leads to guilt, diseases, and even low self-esteem. Pregnancies before marriage have dire consequences both to the parents and to the teens. The reality of your child being responsible of a pregnancy before marriage is disastrous. It brings a feeling of failure in parental hood, uncertainty about the child’s destiny, and shame in the society. Thus, parents condemn pregnancies before marriage whole-heartedly. Teenagers who get pregnant before marriage pose a great risk to their lives. They have fear of what the parents or the society will perceive them and feel the guilt of violating the moral values (Professors House Web). They exhibit denial and fluctuating emotions. They will be under pressure to abort though they know it is immoral (Focus on the family Web). They equally have a lower chance of completing their secondary education and likely to go on welfare. Additionally, teenage pregnancies lead to children with lower birth weights and poor academic performers. These children are subject to neglect, as the teenage parents have no resources to raise them properly. They are also at a greater risk of abuse and neglect (Professors House Web). In cases where the pregnant teenager resolves to abort, they expose themselves to life threatening health conditions like breast cancer. The responsible men in a pregnancy will usually evade their responsibility. In such a case, the teenage mother has a low chance of ever getting married. As such, pregnancy before marriage is negative in all aspects. The US government has condemned it and considerably initiated measures of curbing this sociological anomaly. It has set aside huge sums of capital for abstinence and safe sex education (Professors House Web). In deed with the support of the community and nongovernmental organisations, the government has gradually reduced the number of births out of marriage. Hence, the fight against pregnancy before marriage is from the government, the religious backgrounds, the parents, and the general society. I hold the view that pregnancy before marriage is wrong. This is because of the effects it renders to the concerned parents, teenagers, and the government. Parents whose child become responsible of a pregnancy before marriage get a feeling of failure in parental hood, lose touch with the child’s future, and are likely to become a laughing stock in the society. Women who get pregnant before marriage jeopardize their studies, feel the guilt of violating morality, subject themselves to emotional fluctuations, are under pressure to commit a crime by aborting, pose a great risk to their health life and limit their chances of ever getting married. Children born out of wedlock are mostly underweight, poor performers, and stand a high risk of neglect from their un-resourceful mothers. Additionally, pregnancy before marriage faces condemnation in all religions including mine. Subject to these reasons, I find that pregnancy before marriage faces rejection universally. There have been objections to the position as to why we should not wait until marriage for sex and intimacy and by extension pregnancy. There are those who argue that marriage life is difficult. Thus, they do not want to get married but need to have children. Others argue that some unmarried couples have good sexual relationships than some married couples. They also argue from a Christian point of view, mistake resulting from unplanned pregnancy of having sex before marriage is forgivable (Got questions Web). Yet others wonder why it is necessary to wait until marriage even when they love their partners and are faithful to them. In addressing these objections, I will draw the need of having a personal decision about one’s life. One should not base their judgment on other people’s fallacies and assumptions. Sex is more personal and spiritual than physical. Hence, we should strive to do it at the right time and with the right people. Many married couples enjoy their sexual lives and many regret having sex or pregnancies before marriage. Virginity is a treasure before marriage that attracts respect. Hence, it is worth waiting until you get married to enjoy sex and have children at the comfort and support of spouses. It is logical for a committed couple, who fornicates before marriage, to marry before the baby is born. This will suit the baby and family at large. However, we should be wary that the forgiveness of all sins that the Bible records does not mean erasing the consequences of our sinful actions. In conclusion, I find that there are many factors promoting pregnancy before marriage. The impacts of pregnancy before marriage are not pleasant. Sex and pregnancy before marriage is a social evil that attract universal condemnation. Sex education is thus necessary in preventing pregnancy before marriage (Rogers 88). Works Cited DIGEST. Women Aged 15-29 Are Increasingly Having First Children before Marriage. Guttmacher Institute, 2010. Web 29, February 2012. < https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3209900.html > Focus on the family. BEHIND THE SCENES OF A TEEN PREGNANCY troubled with. 2009. Web 29, February 2012. < http://www.troubledwith.com/ParentingTeens/A000000798.cfm?topic=parenting%20teens%3a%20crisis%20pregnancy > Got questions. If a couple gets pregnant before marriage, do they have to get married Got questions? 2012. Web 29, February 2012. < http://www.gotquestions.org/pregnant-married.html > Professors House Pregnancy before Marriage Professors House, 2012 Web 29, February 2012. < http://www.professorshouse.com/Family/Teens/Articles/Pregnancy-Before-Marriage/ > Rogers, Rex. Sex education; rationale and reaction London: CUP Archive, 1974. Print. Read More