The Healthy Youth Act would address health problems caused by unplanned teen pregnancies.
Kids and their kids
By
Chris Taylor
For the first time since 1994, the state of Wisconsin is seeing an increase in the teen birth rate. Our 2007 teen birth rate was 32 births per per 1,000, up from 30.6 births in 2006 and 30.1 in 2005. Teens also constitute one out of every three cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Wisconsin. In fact, teens face STIs at a rate six times higher than adults.
The negative health outcomes of these statistics are staggering. Pregnant teens are far less likely to receive timely and consistent prenatal care than those who get pregnant at a later age. Their children are more likely to have low birth weights and a lifetime of poor physical and mental health. As they grow, they experience higher rates of abuse and neglect and are nine times more likely to live in poverty than children born to adults.
The consequences are just as significant for pregnant teenagers. Unintended pregnancy is the leading reason teen girls drop out of school. Less than half of teen mothers graduate from high school and fewer than two percent earn a college degree by age 30.
This is a public health crisis we simply cannot afford. In 2008, Wisconsin taxpayers spent more than $25 million for just the birth and delivery costs of teen childbearing.
The Healthy Youth Act (Assembly Bill 458 and Senate Bill 324) currently before the state Legislature would be an important step in reversing these dismal public health trends and increasing the likelihood that teens will lead healthy, productive lives into adulthood. We are not doing enough to educate young people about avoiding these terrible health outcomes, so it is critical that we act now.
First and foremost, the Healthy Youth Act updates Wisconsin’s sex education statute so that if a school district decides to teach sex ed the instruction will include key elements that are proven to change risky teen behavior and reduce pregnancy and STI rates. The information has to be medically accurate, age-appropriate, and cover a range of relevant topics, including information about birth control and abstinence to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
But this bill isn’t just about the facts it also provides students with a skill set meant to empower them to make healthy decisions. Skills like interpersonal communication and recognizing dangerous relationships will help students avoid dating violence, recognize and report sexual and physical abuse, and decrease risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use. It is critical that students get this information early because the knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral patterns that develop in adolescence strongly affect behavior in the years that follow.
Most parents expect that schools are providing accurate sex education to students. This bill strengthens the law by ensuring that parents are notified when sex ed is not taught. It also retains parental authority to remove children from the classroom and inspect the curricula and materials.
Most importantly, the Healthy Youth Act eliminates ineffective abstinence-only education programs, which have cost taxpayers $1.5 billion over the last 25 years. The research couldn’t be any clearer—these programs don’t work. In fact, the Bush administration’s own 2007 study found that abstinence-only education failed to change teen behavior. Even Texas, the largest state recipient of abstinence-only funding, has abandoned this approach as it faces skyrocketing teen birth rates and the nation’s highest teen birth rate.
The Healthy Youth Act also directs the state to apply for new federal teen pregnancy prevention funds. The bill puts Wisconsin law in line with federal policy supporting evidence-based programs that teach information about abstinence and birth control to prevent pregnancy.
A broad coalition of organizations representing the public health community, faith-based communities, educators and organizations like the Madison YWCA and the United Way of Greater Milwaukee have joined together in supporting the Healthy Youth Act. The only opponents of the bill are a handful of groups that oppose contraceptive use even for adults, and also oppose giving students information about contraceptives.
Giving students the information and skills to make smart, healthy decisions now and in the future gives them a fighting chance of leading successful lives. Doing nothing will serve to continue the bad trends.
October 29, 2009
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Chris Taylor is the public policy director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin.
