She’s 17 and Needs Birth Control. Do We Turn Our Backs?
Nicholas Kristof
MARCH 4, 2017
LEWISTON, Me. — She is 17 years old, has an alarming itch “down there” and has come to the family planning clinic because she doesn’t know where else to go.
Sara Hayes, a nurse practitioner, breezes into the examining room and soothes the teenager. Hayes takes a swab and quickly diagnoses a mild yeast infection — perhaps from scented tampons — while setting aside samples to test later for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Then Hayes explains birth control options, and the girl brightens at the idea of an invisible implant in her arm, fully covered by insurance. It will last at least three years and be more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.
Continued at source: New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/04/opinion/sunday/shes-17-and-needs-birth-control-do-we-turn-our-backs.html