Protecting Teen Access

As a trusted health care provider, Planned Parenthood has always made the health and safety of teens one of its top priorities. And now, more than ever, teens need the support of trusted adults, parents, and policymakers. In the last week alone, attacks large and small have been made on access to birth control for teens. And studies have shown that denying access to safe, effective birth control doesn't stop teens from having sex. On the contrary, it increases the risks of unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and the need for abortion.

Each year, roughly 700,000 U.S. teens face unintended pregnancy — 300,000 of whom are under 18. And the United States has the highest teen birth rate of any Western industrialized country. Expanded access to EC would help prevent a great number of these unintended pregnancies, as would medically accurate, comprehensive sex education that covers contraception and sexual decision-marking, in addition to abstinence. And yet each of these tried-and-true approaches to reducing the teen pregnancy rate — and therefore the rate of abortion — are under attack by conservative extremists and ideologues who claim to want to reduce abortion rates.

Attacks on birth control access for teens take many shapes and forms — on the local and national levels.

In Waco

For 17 years running, Planned Parenthood of Central Texas (PPCT) has sponsored a half-day, low-cost comprehensive sex education seminar called "Nobody's Fool" in Waco. Attendees — boys and girls from grades five through nine — learn about abstinence, anatomy, contraception, peer pressure, puberty, sexual development, and STIs in a safe, fun, respectful, and supportive atmosphere. Abstinence is a major point, but questions about birth control methods and STIs are answered honestly and accurately. The teens are broken into groups according to age and gender and are then given age-appropriate information. Parents are invited to preview the course matter the night before — an opportunity for them to join in the fun and perhaps learn something in the process. PPCT Executive Director Pam Smallwood, who founded the program, told reporters, "[T]here's no question that Waco understands this is a mainstream event."

Despite the mainstream support and ongoing popularity of the event, the act of opening doors for teens to learn accurate information about sex, sexual health, and relationships draws a fierce response from right-wing extremists in the area. Each year, dozens of people gather to protest Nobody's Fool, in an attempt to deter teens who are seeking — most often, with parental support — to educate themselves about birth control and other sexual health issues.

What these extremists are protesting is basic health information. Cox News Service's Autumn Gray offered an accurate snapshot of the heart of the program: "This is really what Nobody's Fool is about — safe sex, safe relationships, safe choices." Those are three things that threaten the anti-choice, anti-birth control agenda the most.

In Washington

The FDA's long-delayed decision on over-the-counter access to EC may be coming soon, but it will be no solace for younger women concerned about possible pregnancy. Though more vulnerable with fewer resources than older women, young teens will be left to fend for themselves. And the basis of the FDA's decision to consider over-the-counter access only for older women lies not in science, but in ideology.

Studies have consistently shown that EC is safe for younger women and teens. Researchers have found that teens are capable of using EC responsibly and that increased access to EC does not increase or encourage sexual activity among teens.

Health care providers and public health experts agree that EC is safe and effective for women of all ages. Scott Spear, M.D., a primary care physician at the University Health Services at University of Wisconsin-Madison and former chair of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) National Medical Committee, has called claims against increased access to EC for younger teens "specious" and "lack[ing] scientific merit."

Indeed, EC is a proven tool in the fight to reduce teen pregnancy and improve teen health. Said PPFA Vice President of Medical Affairs Vanessa Cullins, M.D.: "Access to emergency contraception is good medicine."

A Growing Trend

With talk of a "war on contraception" being waged in this country, attacks on teen access to safe, effective birth control should come as no surprise. Teens, too often, bear the brunt of ideological battles being waged on other fronts. Indeed, William Saletan, in a column for the Washington Post, said, "Targeting kids is a familiar way to impose morals without threatening liberties."

Beyond the fray, Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers and educators continue to offer teens what they need most — access to reliable sources of sexual health information and access to the tools they need to keep themselves safe and healthy, well into adulthood. Denying teens access to the tools that prevent unintended pregnancy is not an effective way to keep kids chaste. It's just bad medicine.

© 2006 Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. All rights reserved.