I’m in my late 60s, and pregnancies, condoms and birth control pills certainly weren’t the topic of discussion when I went to school.

Why? Because we came from homes where parents taught moral responsibilities, families prayed together, attended Sunday services together and, most of all, children were taught to respect their bodies.

We weren’t ashamed to get down on our knees and pray, not just when there was a world crisis, but every day, for the grace to keep our families together, in good health and pray for those less fortunate than us. We knew that we were humble creatures, who worshiped a power greater than us, God.

Today, young girls are not respected, and shamefully have no respect for themselves. They empower the male population to use them as toys, something of a conquest. It’s a constant game of teasing and releasing, oftentimes resulting in unwanted pregnancies.

Planned Parenthood, and other such organizations, offer termination of life in the womb, annihilation of innocent children, as the easy way out. The young adults, their parents, the medical providers and staff at Planned Parenthood all go home at night, eat dinner and watch TV just as we do. The difference is that we can go home at night with a clear conscience, knowing that we haven’t needlessly, willingly, taken the life of another human being.

It’s 2014, and these atrocities have to end, today. Young women shouldn’t feel pressured to give their bodies over to young boys who are just using them, for fear of being singled out as odd. They should stand up for their rights, get a backbone, learn to love themselves and learn respect. If they don’t, how are they expected to teach it to their own children when they take on the role as parents?

Aline Poulin, Waterville