Did you know that today, May 7, is “National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy”? Dubbed simply “The National Day” , it’s organized by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, also known simply as “The National Campaign”.
courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net by imagerymajestic
According to the StayTeen.org website hosted by The National Campaign —
“…more than 2,000 teen girls in the United States get pregnant every day? In fact, 3 in 10 girls will become pregnant at least once by age 20. And even though nearly all teens say they don’t want to get pregnant, most of them have never really thought about how getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant would affect their lives.”
Of course most teenagers don’t think in the moments before sex “what I’m about to do could make a BABY”. Teenagers aren’t supposed to be thinking about becoming parents. They are in no way equipped to handle the incredibly tough job of raising children. Yet many of them are engaged in the act that creates life way before they have the means or the desire to be a parent.
StayTeen.org confronts the issues that go hand-in-hand with teenagers having sex–pregnancy and STDs–with honesty and relevance. Their goal: “… to encourage you to enjoy your teen years and avoid the responsibilities that come with too-early pregnancy and parenting.”
Do they talk about abstinence? Why, yes they do.
Do they teach the facts about sex? Yep.
Do they discuss methods of birth control? That too would be a yes.
You might say their covering all the bases. And that’s okay.
I mean it’s not like being hush-hush about how sex works is effective in discouraging anyone from having sex. It’s not.
Nor does pretending that the available methods of birth control don’t exist. Or fail every time. They do exist. Some are more effective than others.
Those are the facts.
No matter which approach your family or school, church or community takes toward the prevention of teen pregnancy, this one truth remains: the only 100% effective way to prevent teen pregnancy is for teenagers not to have sex.
The only guaranteed protection from the havoc an unplanned pregnancy can wreak on a your life is to say “NO” to sex.
Stay a teen… or a college student… or a twenty-something and enjoy life without the stress of an unplanned pregnancy.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at waitingmatters@gmail.com
Click on COMMENT under the title at the top and share what approach you feel is most effective in preventing teenage pregnancies.
Beth Steury, Author 