How should we combat pregnancy among teens?

The issue of teenage pregnancy is everywhere. In some countries, it’s worse than others.

We have to be watchful that it doesn’t take over locally, as from my accounts, I believe there has been an increase in teen pregnancy this year in our community. This is an issue we need to address together.

It’s an established fact that vaginal, anal and oral intercourse place young people at risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. Vaginal intercourse, naturally, carries the additional risk of pregnancy.

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

n In 2007, 48 percent of American high school students had experienced sexual intercourse, and 15% have had four or more sex partners during their life. Thrity-nine percent of currently sexually active high school students did not use a condom during their last sexual intercourse.

n In 2002, 11% of males and females ages 15-19 had engaged in anal sex with someone of the opposite sex; 3% of males ages 15-19 had experienced anal sex with a male. Fifty-five percent of
males and 54% of females ages 15-19 had engaged in oral sex with someone of the opposite sex.

n In 2006, an estimated 5,259 people ages 13-24 in the 33 states reporting to the CDC were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, representing about 14% of the persons diagnosed that year.

n Each year, there are approximately 19 million new STD infections, and almost half of them are among youth ages 15 to 24. In 2002, 12% of all pregnancies, or 757,000, occurred among adolescents ages 15-19.

As I said earlier, we are not the only ones dealing with the issue of teen pregnancy. The United Kingdom decided to start a fight against teen pregnancy by making it easier for them to get the morning-after pills, an act similar to the United States’ recent move to allow 17-year-olds to purchase the “Plan B” contraceptive pill.

In 2006, bio-medicine.org published a document stating that the UK’s campaign “has neither reduced conception nor abortion rates. Besides this, the government has been accused of fuelling record levels of sexually transmitted diseases.

In the early 1990s, Professor Anna Glasier was an advocate of the strategy. Now, she sings a different tune.

“Emergency contraception,” she was quoted as saying, “has been heralded as the solution to rising abortion rates — it’s not.”

Glasier cited conclusive evidence from 10 studies, including her own research, that the policy had failed. She said that at least 66,500 abortions should have been prevented in 2004 alone if it had
worked.

On a related matter, the CDC reports that the use of drugs and alcohol has contributed to the increase in unprotected sex among teenagers: “Adolescents are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned is this advice from the CDC:

“Abstinence from vaginal, anal and oral intercourse is the only 100% effective way to prevent HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy. The correct and consistent use of a male latex condom can reduce the risk of STD transmission, including HIV infection. However, no protective method is 100% effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD or pregnancy.”

Erick Kalenga is an organizer of Rize Up. His columns run every Sunday.