Exiting the Victorian Era: Dealing with Teen Pregnancies

Okay, so I know this is a little after the fact (the study has been out for a while) but I saw a news clip this morning that reminded me of it. At the end of 2006, teenage pregnancies have actually gone up. Now, this comes after 15 years of decrease, and it it implies a reversal of the trend for at least the next couple years. Though Obama reversed the ruling that stated that those who taught safe sex would not receive federal funding, this does not mean that we are going to see hundreds of schools switching over. Many districts choose to pursue abstinence even though their is strong evidence that it does not work, and even common sense should tell us that it does not work (as a teenager, when someone told you not to do something, did you listen?). The areas that promote abstinence only programs also have the highest rate of teenage pregnancies, with the South and Southeast both having the highest number of abstinence only programs and also the highest number of teen pregnancies. High poverty areas also have these issues, such as District of Columbia (outside the main part of DC) and parts of California (The heavily Hispanic, thus Catholic, areas for example) and this goes in line with a poorer education on the subject (low income areas are 7 times more likely to disregard or minimize sexual education).

And why does this happen? Because it is much easier to not talk about something and hope you do not have to deal with it then to outright address the issue, or that we feel that exposing them to the subject will cause them to see it as an endorsement. In a country where information is so readily available (between TV, Libraries, and the Internet) you would hope that people would know more. But to this day, people still have tons of misconceptions about sex, pregnancy and birth control (I actually have heard someone reciting the line "You can't get pregnant on top" from Knocked Up as a fact. She was 16). Parent's will fight to make sure their kids know nothing about the subject, and then let them watch television shows that promote sex without consequence. There is no context for sex, and the consequences are not depicted with any realism. Argueing that teaching about something is endorsing means that we shouldn't teach about the Holocaust because we are then endorsing it. In Europe, where sex is actually addressed and contraception is made available, England has the highest teen pregnancy birth rate, and it is half that of the United States. Most have a fifth or less. They also start later in most nations and are more likely to use both types of contraception (16% is the average in Europe for teenagers using them in conjunction, which is over 5 times higher than the US for similar ages.)

Now, I am Catholic. My church puts a big deal on waiting for marriage, about not using artificial contraception, and about the sanctity of sex. Now do not get me wrong, I am not saying that pursuing these is wrong or that I think teenagers should be having sex. But there is a huge gap between should and reality. You should love your partner, you should be responsible about it, and you should be ready to accept any consequences if you do choose to pursue sex. The problem is that abstinence simply says that you shouldn't have sex (and sometimes includes consequences but usually only as scare tactics), and doesn't address what you should do if you choose to pursue sex. And I will admit, that safe sex programs do not usually address the seriousness of the emotional aspect of sex and can address with no more passion then a biology class. What I would like to see is combining the concept of waiting and treating sex as more than a fun thing to do to be combined with the thought if you do it here is how to avoid/minimize negative consequences and this is what is actually happening. It is how I currently run my talks on our campus (though with my Audience, most either already know it or are too old to care) and it almost always gets a positive response. If this method of teaching could be brought into Middle and High School levels, I am sure that it would improve our standings and bring us more in line with the rest of the First World Nations. If only we as a country will move out of the cloistered and timid approach to sex that has been with us since the Victorian Era can we hope to see any change in the behavior of our teenage populations.