Welcome to the VICE Guide to Life, our imperfect advice on becoming an adult.Politically, birth control can be controversial, but in practice, there’s little debate about how awesome it is to be able to control when you decide to have a kid. In fact, more than 99 percent of sexually active women between the ages of 15 and 44 say they’ve used at least one method of contraception at some point in their lives.
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The problem for many young people, of course, is actually getting their hands on some form of birth control, which usually requires a prescription. While cost is a huge deterrent for many college students, another obstacle to reproductive freedom may be parents who have staunch religious or cultural beliefs against the use of contraceptives. Perhaps you’ve tried asking them to help you navigate this process and they shut you down because you shouldn’t be having sex anyway (their words, not ours). Or maybe that’s a conversation you just don’t want to broach with your parents at all. We get it.Here’s the scary truth: Almost half of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Research shows, however, that the rate of teen pregnancies is actually declining. Why? As the study’s authors write, that’s “entirely attributable” to more teens using birth control.“Regardless of what your parents’ beliefs are, if you’re sexually active, then using contraception to prevent pregnancy is a responsible choice,” says Dr. Tonya Katcher, the program manager for clinical services and contraceptive access at Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit working to support young people’s access to accurate sexual health information. “Using contraception is really common, even if you feel like you’re alone using it because you have to keep it secret.”If you believe starting birth control, whether it’s the pill or a long-acting reversible contraceptive such as an IUD, is the right decision for your body and your future but don’t want your parents involved, here are a few things to know.
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