Teen pregnancy has been an issue for a very long time; however, only since the ’60s have women and girls had access to safe and effective oral contraception. Teens find themselves in sexual situations, and afterwards they start to worry: Could I be pregnant? How can I prevent an unplanned pregnancy? Birth control (pills and shots) and condoms are effective, but so is abstinence. Of course abstinence is the easiest, most reliable way to prevent worry, heartbreak, and nine months of hardship and excruciating pain.

An issue with birth control is that most teens aren’t going to want to go with their parents to a doctor to get it. I think that the pill should be over the counter, like condoms. Teens would be way more likely to use birth control if their parents didn’t know about it, because they probably don’t want their parents to know why they need birth control.

Of course, teens could use condoms, but these aren’t completely reliable. According to Planned Parenthood, 15 out of every 100 people who use condoms during sex still get pregnant. That means that condoms only work about 85% of the time, although using them is a much better option than not.

To avoid all of these issues in general, just abstain from sex until you are at a stable point in your life where you feel confident that you could raise a child in the event that you (or your girlfriend) became pregnant.