Friday, December 7

Teen pregnancy rates up; abstinence-only programs to blame?


Looks like the state was wise to reject abstinence-only sex education funds. Teen birth rates have just gone up for the first time in decades, at a time when more money than ever has been sunk into abstinence-only programs. Most researchers think the rising teen pregnancy rate relates to the misinformation about safe sex practices that abstinence-only programs promulgate. Fans of abstinence-only sex ed call those claims "stupid," saying instead that young women who become pregnant understand contraception but want babies. If schools choose to adopt the sex ed program the DOE is now recommending -- which includes real information about contraception -- New York City could be a leader in reversing the disturbing trend.

(Though upsetting, this news does get me excited to see "Juno" this weekend. See you Monday!)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

In many countries teen pregnancy in on raise it is growing at 4% every year, There are many reasons of this dramatic raise in teen pregnancy, Yes promoting safe sex practices only promulgate the teen sex. The effective way can be to educate the complexities of early Pregnancy instead of safe sex.