2008.03.06
Teen clinic is a good way to talk about sex
Beginning this afternoon, area teens again will have a place to seek knowledgeable advice about sexual health.
With teen pregnancy rates on the rise, thank goodness Planned Parenthood Health Systems has reopened its teens-only clinic for a few hours every month.
From 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, high school and middle school students can drop by the Peters Creek Road facility for free, professional help with confidential services including birth control, pregnancy testing, gynecological exams and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.
Abortions will not be offered as part of the clinic. But abstinence will be part of the comprehensive and essential discussion about sexual health.
Ideally, parents would take the lead in talking with their teens about such matters. But if mom and dad don't have that kind of relationship with their children, Planned Parenthood is a great backup.
The staff offers young people sound advice that will help them make informed decisions.
The clinic's staff encourages appointments, but walk-ins also are welcome. If a girl wants birth control pills or patches, the first three months are free. After that, she will have to pay for them. Condoms are free.
"We're trying to reduce all the potential barriers that keep sexually active teens from seeking contraception and comprehensive information about sexuality," said David Nova, vice president of Planned Parenthood. "Teens know if you walk in Planned Parenthood, you're not going to be judged. We want them to be able to ask questions."
The organization closed the teen clinic for about six months after a merger with the North Carolina Planned Parenthood. As the two operations joined forces, some programs were put on hold.
But disturbing statistics indicate the timing couldn't be better for reopening the clinic.
In a troubling reversal, the national teen birth rate recently posted increases for the first time in 15 years. The birth rate had been on the decline since it peaked in 1991. But it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.
In the state health department's planning District 5, which is made up of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig and Roanoke counties and Roanoke, Covington and Salem, the pregnancy rate increased by 10 percent in the same time period, according to state statistics.
Nova said the clinic previously served about 20 to 22 youngsters each month. It cost about $1,200 a month to operate a few years ago, and is funded with grant money.
Ultimately, the free teen clinic doesn't let parents off the hook. But it can act as a way to enable more open communication between teen and parent about sexuality.
Oh, My Good God! I cannot believe this.
You are grossly UNINFORMED on this issue and should probably keep your mouth closed until you get your information straight.
Talk to any mother who has aborted a child, and she will tell you of the incredible guilt she is living with having murdered a living being.
Also, look at the facts about breast cancer. Sure they abort the baby but they do nothing about the milk glads in the breasts that have begun doing their job upon conception. So what happens after this process sits there incomplete for decades? Check it out?
God help us all!
First, ditch the drama. Second, the teen clinic doesn't perform abortions. So if you're trying to use this as a forum to promote your agenda, you picked the wrong place. I firmly support teens being informed about their sexual health, whether they are sexually active or not.---s
Comment by S. Guy — March 7, 2008 @ 11:25 am
Interesting that S. "GUY" would tell you how a woman who has aborted a child will feel afterward. I've had an abortion due to medical reasons...where's my guilt?
In addition, I'd like to find out where he got his facts about a link between abortion and breast cancer.
Hmm...who's uninformed??
Comment by Realistic One — March 7, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
Please give S. Guy a break. S. Guy makes complete sense if you would be reasonable. A couple of years ago, I watched a forum on PBS in which there was discussion as to the role that abortion played in breast cancer. I have also heard of the study somewhere else. It was a study by a doctor in which it is assumed that a woman's hormones begins to prepare for the baby as soon as she becomes pregnant. An abrupt end to the pregnancy could cause a disruption in her hormones that could cause her later problems. A miscarriage does not cause the same problem because it is a normal process of her body in which the body prepares for the end of the pregnancy.
As for the teen clinic, it seems that it should be illegal to give birth control and treat STDs to minors. Don't parents have to sign for any other medical procedures? No doctor's office will give gynecological exams or testing without the parent's permission. I assume that this clinic will have to obtain parental permission.
Shanna states that no abortions will be performed. Does she understand how the birth pill works? One way that the pill works is in shedding the lining of the uterus. Therefore, a girl can be pregnant and the pill will cause her to abort the pregnancy. Remember that the pill is not 100% effective in preventing the pregnancy, and that a pregnancy can happen and attach to the lining of the wall of the uterus. Consequently, the clinic will in sense be providing abortions!
Doesn't anyone else besides S. Guy understand that real problem? Pregnancy is not the issue. Untimed sex is the problem. Even though a girl may not get pregnant, she is having sex which the pill and patch do not help prevent STDs. Even without any religious point of view, a teenager having sex ruins their self-esteem because they can never turn back the clock. Planned Parenthood clinics only encourage peer pressure upon teens to have sex. If a boy has condoms or a girl pill, they will think that it is alright to have sex. A girl cannot tell her boyfriend "NO" as easily if he knows that she is on the pill. Both boys and girls need to be taught that they need to respect their own bodies and wait until they can enjoy sex. It is an adult pasttime that they need to wait to fully enjoy without having to worry about the consequences.
The costs involved in funding these clinics could be better used to fund activities in which the teens would be supervised and enjoy without having to feel that they have to have sex.
Do some more reading on those studies.---s
Comment by Sensible — March 9, 2008 @ 3:18 pm
As a mother to a teenage girl, I have to admire those people that are in the profession that take volumes of heat regarding the education and topic of teenage sexuality. This is certainly a valid question when you ask 'who consents for the monior?'. Another valid question is 'where does a minor go when they are too timid/frightened to go to their parents?'. Abstinence would certainly be my choice for my child, but let's be real. The temptation to live and behave as an adult in this society is overwhelming. If a child could not or will not go to their parent/guardian, then God Bless the person that is willing and has the appropriate and accurate resources to teach those children and hopefully those children will choose to abstain....but again, let's be real
Comment by Realist — March 9, 2008 @ 8:53 pm
I have read several links through the internet on this subject and the one thing that stand out is the group that supports the study.
"Pro life groups" being in agreement with Shanna.
Information is the key, but who should instuct this information schools, churches, or an eager adolescence teen.
When a parent is voluntarily absent is different from when the parent is involved.
From a teen to a parent I've seen enough.
I would have hoped some teens would have taken this opportunity to voice there opinions....."Hint"
Comment by Backlash — March 11, 2008 @ 8:24 am
Realist
You are right let's be real. As a father of a 16 yr. old she is faced with many questions and some of which she asks me and her mother.
No teen should fear asking a parent anything, and if they are not asking then we are doing something very wrong.
In Ohio a pregnant teen no matter the age can sign a waiver to exclude their parents from their birthing classes if they choose to, "EVEN IF THE PARENT IS PAYING FOR THE INSURANCE"!!!!
Excuse me Shanna, but how in the hell do this piece of dog crap get past in any state. Are we as parents asleep at the wheel. Obviously...
"Heavy sign" This is what I wanted to post, I still have a headache...
Study: 1 in 4 teen girls has an STD
(AP) -- At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group.
About 3 million teen girls have an STD and 18 percent of them have HPV which can cause cervical cancer.
A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls -- nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
About half of the girls acknowledged having sex; among them, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections.
Oh did I leave out that in Ohio, as of last year teens were taught oral sex wasn't really sex in sex education courses.
Wonder were that came from.
Comment by Backlash — March 11, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
Here is a link to what I think is an informative video of teens openly speaking about sex, friends, and parents interaction..
What teens think about sex - MSN Video
March 13: A group ranging in age from 14 to 17 discusses the pressure to have sex and how teens communicate with their parents.
video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&fg=rss&vid=9fad8ccf-c40c-42fe-a5ef-164141936ff8&from=34 - 27k
Comment by Static Lines — March 14, 2008 @ 8:01 am
US teenagers think oral sex isn't real sex
New York Janice Hopkins Tanne
A study of nearly 600 young California teenagers indicates that, having been told to be abstinent and warned of dangers of sex such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, they have decided that oral sex is the safest choice.
Previous studies indicated that many young people choose to have oral sex and don’t consider it "real sex." In 1999 a study in the journal of the American Medical Association showed that US university students didn’t think oral sex was real sex.
"Notice the year"
Articles of interest..
High School Oral Sex Article Stirs Controversy - Denver News Story ...
... the statement by then-President Bill Clinton who told reporters that he did not ... condoms, found that one-third of teenage girls said oral sex is not sex.
High School Oral Sex Article Stirs Controversy
Is Oral Sex Really Sex?
That's What Montrose High Newspaper Asks
A high school newspaper article that claims 40 percent of the students have had oral sex has stirred controversy in Montrose, Colo. The Montrose High School Chieftain published the story in its April 30 edition.
The article, written by MHS student Katherine Smith, questions whether experts and students consider oral sex as "having sex." The school paper published the column, story and information box on the subject.
SURVEY
Do you think an article on students' opinion of oral sex is appropriate for a high school newspaper?
Yes. Teens that age are thinking and talking about it anyway.
No. It is not the appropriate forum.
The story begins by citing a "survey" of Montrose high school students which determined that 60 percent of the students do not consider oral sex to be "sex."
Morals, must be used in choosing the next president or "Our Children will see being involved in an adulterous lifestyles as normal".
Comment by Backlash — March 14, 2008 @ 8:17 am