experts said they have been expecting a jump. They blamed it on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that doesn’t teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception.
Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.
“It’s not rocket science,” she said.
At the same time, some research suggests teens are using condoms far more often than they did 15 years ago.
Decreased condom use and increased sexual activity are two likely explanations for the higher teen birth rate. But not all data supports those theories, said John Santelli, a professor of population and family health at Columbia University’s school of public health.
For example, a biannual government survey of high school students found that the percentage of those who said they used a condom the last time they had sex rose to 63 percent in 2005, up from 46 percent in 1991.
What did the pro-sexualizing-of-young-teens organization Planned Parenthood have to say about the news?
The new report offers a state-by-state breakdown of birth rates overall. Many of those with the highest birth rates teach abstinence instead of comprehensive sex education, according to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
That’s incredibly deceptive – on purpose, I’m sure. Liberal groups like Planned Parenthood would like people to believe that “abstinence only” education strictly forbids any discussion of safe sex beyond abstinence. That’s not always the case. For example, if you take a look at page one of this CDC document, which lists the percentage of live births to mothers under 20 years old for 2005 and 2006, you’ll see that the birth rate per 1000 under-20 females in Louisiana increased from 13.7 to 13.8. But if you go to the anti-abstinence SIECUS website (to learn more about how huge SIECUS is to the public school system, click here), where they break down abstinence only education funds by state, you’ll see this about Louisiana (emphasis added):
Louisiana received approximately $2,745,625 in federal funds for
abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Fiscal Year 2006.1
Louisiana Sexuality Education Law and Policy
Louisiana does not require schools to offer sexuality or sexually transmitted disease (STD)/HIV education, but schools are permitted to offer it after sixth grade. State law mandates that sexuality education cannot be offered in kindergarten through sixth grade, except in Orleans Parish, which may offer sexuality education in the third grade and above. Schools must provide this education “regardless of the student’s grade level” if the student is parenting or pregnant.
Louisiana law defines sexuality education as:
[T]he dissemination of factual biological or pathological information that is related to the human reproduction system (sic) and may include the study of sexually transmitted disease, pregnancy, childbirth, puberty, menstruation, and menopause, as well as the dissemination of factual information about parental responsibilities under the child support laws of the state.
The education must be integrated into “an existing course study such as biology, science, physical hygiene, or physical education.” It cannot include “religious beliefs, practices in human sexuality, nor the subjective moral and ethical judgments of the instructor or other persons. Students shall not be tested, quizzed, or surveyed about their personal or family beliefs or practices in sex, morality, or religion.” Classes may not include “any sexually explicit materials depicting male or female homosexual activity.” They also may not in “any way counsel or advocate abortion.” In addition, this education must emphasize that:
—- abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as the expected standard for all school-age children;
—- abstinence from sexual activity is a way to avoid unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including acquired immune defic