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Junkie
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Given our focus on "safe sex" it has not worked. The children born of teen mothers are far more likely to be in poverty than children born of adults. And there are more (absolute numbers and ratios) of these children being born in poverty today than during anytime in the past 50 years. These children get trapped in a cycle of poverty. This cycle has to end. Abstinence will if we commit to it and give it an opportunity to work. The Bush plan was never widely used and was a voluntary program.
Even with your knowledge and education if you did not have unprotected sex as a teenager, you are the exception. Given all of the current focus on protected sex, I am not sure how you assume it is working. A girl taking a birth control pill, which would reduce the risk of pregnancy, is not protected sex. I would never assume a teenager would have the discipline to actually practice safe sex. STD's are at alarming rates among teens.
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If you review the latest STD statistics, you will see that STDs are a fairly common among teens -- why many experts still consider STDs to be a 'hidden epidemic' in our communities.
Most surprising to some parents will be the high number of STD cases in preteens.
Chlamydia Statistics
Unfortunately, chlamydia rates continue to increase each year, with older teen girls having the highest rates of Chlamydia trachomatis infections.
The CDC chlamydia statistics for 2007:
* 1,108,374 total cases
* 13,629 cases in children 10 to 14 years old
* 379,418 cases in teens 15 to 19 years old
* 402,595 cases in young adults 20 to 24 years old
Gonorrhea Statistics
Like chlamydia, gonorrhea rates have been increasing for teens.
The CDC gonorrhea statistics for 2007:
* 355,991 total cases
* 3,958 cases in children 10 to 14 years old
* 98,579 cases in teens 15 to 19 years old
* 111,788 cases in young adults 20 to 24 years old
Syphilis Statistics
Syphilis rates have been rising, too. Although rates are highest in young adult women aged 20 to 24 years old, there are a significant number of cases in teens, which is likely a very big surprise to most parents and even many pediatricians.
The CDC syphilis statistics for 2007:
* 11,466 cases of primary and secondary syphilis
* 13 cases in children 10 to 14 years old
* 664 cases in teens 15 to 19 years old
* 1,818 cases in young adults 20 to 24 years old
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STD Statistics - Teen STD Statistics
Here are some more facts, not feelingsSexual Activity
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* Currently 46.8% of all high school students report they have had sexual intercourse. The percentage of high school students who have had sex decreased 13.3% between 1991 and 2005 (54% to 46.8%).
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
* Nationwide, 6.2% of high school students had had sexual intercourse for the first time before age 13. Overall, the prevalence of having had sexual intercourse before age 13 was higher among male (8.8%) than female (3.7%) students.
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
* Nationwide, 14.3% of high school students had had sexual intercourse with four or more persons during their life. Overall, the prevalence of having had sexual intercourse with four or more persons was higher among male (16.5%) than female (12.0%) students.
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
* Among the 33.9% of currently sexually active students nationwide, 62.8% reported that either they or their partner had used a condom during last sexual intercourse. Overall, the prevalence of having used a condom during last sexual intercourse was higher among male (70.0%) than female (55.9%) students.
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
* Among the 33.9% of currently sexually active high school students nationwide, 23.3% had drunk alcohol or used drugs before their last sexual intercourse.
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
* Fifty-two percent (52%) of teens report that they have sexually active friends.
2005 CASA National Survey
* Youth exposed to sexual content on television were more likely to overestimate the frequency of sexual activity among peers and more likely to have more permissive attitudes toward premarital sex.
Teen Pregnancy
* Three in ten teenage girls (31%) become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 – more than 750,000 teen pregnancies a year. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81% are to unmarried teens.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
* The U.S. teen pregnancy rate for teens ages 15-19 decreased 36% between 1990 and 2002.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
* Despite impressive declines over the past decade, the United States still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the Western industrialized world. Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 billion annually.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
* About one in ten girls who first has sex before age 15 describes it as involuntary.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
* A majority of both girls and boys who are sexually active wish they had waited. Of those who have had sex, more than one half of teen boys (55%) and the majority of teen girls (70%) said they wish they had waited longer to have sex.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
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STDs
* Nineteen (19) million new STD infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.
Centers for Disease Control
* One in two sexually active youth will contract an STD by age 25.
2005 ASHA State of the Nation
* Forty percent (40%) of older adolescents surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation incorrectly believe that the contraceptive “pill” and “shot” protect against STDs and HIV.
2005 ASHA State of the Nation
* Some young people, including those who had abstinence education, consider oral and anal sex to be abstinent behaviors and do not realize these behaviors present risks of STD transmission.
2005 ASHA State of the Nation
* Adolescents believed they are tested during routine medical examinations for major STDs: chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, hepatitis B, herpes, HPV, syphilis, and trichomoniasis.
2005 ASHA State of the Nation
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HIV/AIDS
* Nationwide, 87.9% of high school students had ever been taught about AIDS or HIV infection in school.
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
* Half of all new HIV infections occur among adolescents.
2005 ASHA State of the Nation
* In 2004, an estimated 4,883 people ages 13-24 received a diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS, representing about 13% of the people given a diagnosis that year.
Centers for Disease Control
* African-Americans were disproportionately affected by HIV infection, accounting for 55% of all HIV infections reported among young persons ages 13-24.
Centers for Disease Control
* An estimated 232 young people with AIDS died in 2004.
Centers for Disease Control
* In 2004, an estimated 7,761 young people were living with AIDS, a 42% increase since 2000, when 5,457 young people were living with AIDS.
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SADD Statistics
You can not blame these facts on conservatives and the promotion of "abstinence only"
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"Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions on vegetarianism while the wolf is of a different opinion."
"If you live among wolves you have to act like one."
"A lady screams at the mouse but smiles at the wolf. A gentleman is a wolf who sends flowers."
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