Palin's Teen Pregnancy - Am I missing something?

Question

If abstenece education fails, a girl will get pregnant and might get STDs. If it works, she will get neither.

If "standard" s*x education fails, a girl will get pregnant and might get STDs. If it works, she might get pregnant and might get STDs.

Sorry, am I missing something here?!? Condoms slightly reduce the chances of getting STDs - they don't stop them. So why are people saying that Palin's daughter's pregnancy somehow validates the condom strategy?

Answer 1

Actually,the research was published several months ago on the abstinence education. It simply does not work. In fact,it is NO DIFFERENT than no s*x ed at all. Its no longer up for debate. People love to make up statistics,but at the end of the day,the verdict is in and abstinance only education is worthless.

  s*x ed teaching about condoms and birth control has been proven to work in study after study. It is proven to reduce STDs AND teen pregnancy. As for the BS someone was saying about how birthcontrol promotes promiscuity,there is no evidence for that. Furthermore,the claim someone just made about long term relationships and lower std rates may be true in adults,but teenagers don't typically have long term relationships. Long term for teenagers is 3 months.

The fact is,teenagers have s*x. Teenagers get pregnant. They will do it regardless of what you tell them. The only way to reduce the pregnancies and diseases is to educate regarding condoms and birth control. Its proven to work. Abstinence only education is just putting your head in the sand and doing nothing.

Answer 2

No birth control is 100% effective.  I think the issue at hand is somehow related to irresponsibility.  But she is engaged to the would be father, so it's not like they're not taking responsibility for their actions.  It's just stupid politics. Palin is probably the most down to earth real person in the whole election circus.  I'm glad there are a few normal people in the government.

Answer 3

Yes, you are missing something. You forgot to look at the numbers. Far more girls get pregnant with the "abstinence" education than with the "standard" s*x education, therefore more girls ARE getting pregnant with the abstinence education than standard education because they are not prepared for safe s*x and go ahead and have s*x without any protection. That's what your missing!

From http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/PUBLICA...

"Given that half of teens have had s*x, even when educators encourage them not to, s*x education must be driven by public health principles rather than ideology. s*x education may promote abstinence as the best option for teens. But given that so many students will not abstain from s*x, programs have an obligation to help teens understand the risks and responsibilities that come with s*x. Survey after survey indicates that adolescents have a tremendous unmet need for information related to sexuality, contraception, STIs, and making sexual decisions. Government-sponsored programs need to fill this information gap, not cause it to worsen.

A nationwide survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Seventeen Magazine revealed considerable gaps in teens’ knowledge. The survey found that many teens hold misconceptions and harbor unnecessary and unfounded fears – such as the belief that contraception can cause infertility or birth defects. Nearly 20 percent of surveyed teens underestimated the effectiveness of the contraceptive patch or ring, and over 25 percent believed that emergency contraception causes abortion. Few teens understood the effectiveness of the male condom in preventing STIs, including HIV. In addition, over 25 percent of the teens did not know that oral contraception provides no protection against sexually transmitted diseases.[16] The government-sponsored abstinence evaluation conducted by Mathematica Policy Research also confirmed that teens have important gaps in knowledge of STIs. The study found that on average, youth got only about half the answers correct regarding the health consequences of STIs.[5]

Public health statistics confirm the need for more, not less, information and services directed at adolescents.

About three out of 10 young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20[17] – approximately 750,000 per year.[18] Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended.[19]

Approximately a quarter of teen females and 18 percent of teen males did not use a method of contraception at first intercourse.[20]

The interval between the time an adolescent female starts sexual activity and seeks health care services is approximately 12 months.[20]

About 20 percent of adolescent pregnancies occur within one month of the onset of sexual activity, and 50 percent occur within six months.[21,22]

Adolescents are at higher risk for acquiring STIs for a combination of behavioral, biological, and cultural reasons. The higher prevalence reflects: 1) multiple barriers to accessing quality STI prevention services, including lack of insurance or other ability to pay; 2) lack of transportation; 3) discomfort with facilities and services designed for adults; and 4) concerns about confidentiality.[23,24,25]

An estimated half of all new HIV infections occur in people under age 25.[26]

Recent estimates suggest that while representing 25 percent of the ever sexually active population, 15- to 24-year olds acquire nearly one-half of all new STIs.[26]

Recent strides in reducing adolescent pregnancy are almost exclusively a function of contraceptive use. Improved contraceptive use is responsible for 86 percent of the decline in the U.S. adolescent pregnancy rate between 1995 and 2002.[27] Only 14 percent of the change among 15- to 19-year-old women was attributable to a decrease in the percentage who were sexually active.[27] Even though the birth rate for teenagers fell to 40.4 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 2005, the lowest in 65 years,[28] the United States continues to have the highest teenage birth rate of any of the world’s developed nations.[28]

Abstinence–only-until-marriage programs are of little value to sexually active teens and, by definition, discriminate against L*****n, g*y, bisexual, and transgender youth. Adolescents are often reluctant to acknowledge sexual activity, seek out contraception, and/or discuss sexuality, even in the most open settings. Abstinence-only programs do not provide a much-needed forum in which sexually active adolescents can address critical issues – such as safer s*x, the benefits of contraception, legal rights to health care, and ways to access reproductive health services. Instead, abstinence-only programs allow discussions only within the narrow limits developed by conservatives in Congress."

Hope this helps!