The United States is facing a teen pregnancy health care crisis. This year an estimated 750,000 American teens will become pregnant. The U.S. continues to hold the regrettable distinction of having the highest teen pregnancy rate among the most developed nations.
Additionally, the Guttmacher Institute also reported a sharp decline in the number of teens that receive comprehensive sex education from their schools. In 2002, only 66 percent of boys and 70 percent of girls learned about birth control from their schools, a sharp drop from 1995, when the numbers stood at 81-87 percent.
We've already wasted more than $1.5 billion on ineffective and dangerous "abstinence-only" programs. We've seen that abstinence-only programs have failed — at least one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted infection. And we can't afford to wait any longer to take action. That's why Planned Parenthood is calling for investing funding in comprehensive sex education that teaches teens about abstinence as well as contraception, healthy communication, responsible decision making, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections.
Fortunately, some teens are taking matters into their own hands. Planned Parenthood peer educators — including those featured below — are getting the facts about birth control and safer sex, and sharing them with other young people.
You can get involved in the fight for comprehensive sex education.
Learn more about this issue, and urge your legislators to fund comprehensive sex education so that young people have the information they need to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
