QuestionI'm 17, and I live with my parent's. My parent's are trying to force me into getting the depo shot. I am NOT sexually active, and I hate needles. I refused, and they're trying to force me to by threatening me. I always do everything they say and I'm scared. I don't want to give in... Can they legally make me?
AnswerI can't imagine your parents would do such a thing! Even if you were sexually active, at 17 the shot or the pill is terrible medicine and causes serious and not so serious side effects. Here is some information to give them:
Birth control works in the following three ways:
1. Prevents ovulation by suppressing the hypothalamus part of the brain
2. Causes changes in the cervical mucus, preventing or delaying migration of sperm
3. Prevents implantation of the newly conceived baby (abortion)
Side effects include:
1. Headaches and Migraines
2. Mental Depression (Even To The Point Of Suicide And/Or Suicidal Tendencies),
3. A Decrease Or Loss Of Sexual Drive,
4. Abdominal Cramps, Bloating, Weight Gain Or Loss, And Water Retention;
5. Nausea And Vomiting (In About 10% Of Users);
6. Symptoms Of PMS, Vaginitis And Vaginal Infections.
7. Temporary Or Permanent Blindness, And An Intolerance To Contact Lenses
8. Anxiety And Nervousness And Hair Loss
9. Adrenal Suppression With Weight Gain
10. Mood Swings And Fatigue
11. Allergic Reactions and Excessive Bleeding
12. Voice changes, lowering of the singing range
Many women who take BCPs are more susceptible to bacterial, yeast and fungal infections because of the use of BCPs. They suppress the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis by constant, daily doses of potent steroids. This HPA axis controls the immune system responses, which handle infectious assaults. You could be sick more frequently and with more serious illnesses.
Other serious results from taking birth control (either pill or shot)
1. Increased Incidence Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
2. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
3. Ectopic Pregnancy And Abortion
4. Strokes Or Heart Disease
5. Blood Clots, Especially If You Smoke
6. Damage To The Fallopian Tubes resulting in tubal pregnancies
7. Fibrocystic Breast Disease and Gall Bladder Disease
8. Breast Cancer Or Cervical Cancer
9. Either Temporary Or Permanent Infertility In Users With Previous Menstrual Irregularities Or Who Began The Drug While Still In Their Teens.
10. BCPs send a chemical message to the rest of the body; giving it the impression that the woman is constantly pregnant. The potent steroids affect all her vital organs and if the user conceives and does not abort, so are the vital organs of the preborn baby.
11. Depo-Provera, a derivative of progesterone, is injected once every three months into the deltoid muscle. This chemical transforms the lining of the uterus into a secretory state, preventing a preborn baby from implanting on its mother's womb. This is an early abortion, possibly every month. Some of the same effects from birth control pills are possible.
I don't think they can force you. You should be able to convince the doctor that you don't want it and there is no medical reason why he shouldn't agree with you.
