This year, an estimated 1500 Montana teens will become pregnant and nearly one in four will contract a sexually transmitted infection. This is a preventable health care crisis.
Amid the news that Montana has a rising teen birth rate, the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy among the most developed countries in the world, and at least one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted infection, Planned Parenthood of Montana is raising awareness about the need to support proven prevention strategies and to encourage and improve the education of our young people. The ultimate goal is to ensure that all teens and their parents have access to medically accurate, age-appropriate education that helps reduce teen pregnancy and prevent sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
As a health care provider, Planned Parenthood knows firsthand the power of education to help teens make responsible decisions about their health and future. Every year we provide 22,000 women, men, and teens statewide with the health care and information they need to prevent unintended pregnancy and protect their health. In addition to helping parents and teens communicate with each other about sexuality, health, and responsible decision making, we also work with teens across the state who are trained as peer educators to be resources in their communities for other teens who need honest, straightforward information about prevention. Teens need access to information that keeps them healthy and safe.
Evidence and experience show that the more young people receive open and honest answers to their questions about relationships, sexual health, and prevention, the more likely they are to delay sexual activity. And when they do become sexually active, whether in their teen years, or later on, the more likely they are to protect themselves from infection and use contraceptives correctly.
We are at a critical moment in our history and in preparing for our future. With healthcare reform looming, it is important to focus on proven prevention that will help our youth succeed. At the national level, President Obama supports medically accurate, age-appropriate education that helps reduce teen pregnancy and Congress has included funding for comprehensive programs in their upcoming appropriations bills. In Montana, PPMT hosted a statewide Teen Pregnancy Prevention Summit on September 14th and is preparing to launch a statewide Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition. Our focus and priorities will be to support community partners and target key groups of young people who are at increased risk for teen pregnancy with comprehensive outreach and education.
The time has come for commonsense prevention efforts and critical funding support to address a preventable health care crisis among our state’s youth. That’s why Planned Parenthood is urging everyone to participate in the “Protecting our Future” Week of Action and to join our call to improve the lives of young people through enhanced education and a statewide commitment to prevention.
Jill Baker
Education Director
Planned Parenthood of Montana
406-454-3431
