Teenagers watch television as lovers are locked in a passionate embrace during uninhibited lovemaking. The message to teens? Carefree sex is OK.
This suggestion has brought the rate of one in ten pregnant American teenage girls per year according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Unwanted pregnancies are why health clinics, which distribute various contraceptives like the one at Du Sable High School of Chicago, are essential to teens today. The days of parent/offspring talks are gone, as shown by the survey for
”Sex and the American Teenager” where almost 50 percent of the teenagers surveyed learned nothing about sex from their parents. Where should a teenager turn for information?
Sweden and the Netherlands have already proven the effectiveness of clinics with contraceptive distribution within the school systems. With the same level of promiscuity, these countries manage three to six times fewer pregnancies than the U.S.
Ignorance of contraception does not eliminate sex and its risks, nor the human drive. It only withholds the knowledge of alternatives and precautions against unwanted pregnancies–facts everyone has the right to know.
