Advocates for Youth Praises California's Success at Reducing Teen Births

5/23/2003

From: Bill Barker of the Advocates for Youth, 202-347-5700 web: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org

WASHINGTON, May 23 -- On Thursday, May 28, experts from around California will gather to discuss teen pregnancy prevention in the state, highlighting lessons learned from an 8-year initiative aimed at bringing down the number of teen births -- numbers which compare favorably with other states in the U.S. but still lag far behind those in Europe.

"California has taken great steps in reducing unwanted teen births and pregnancy," said Barbara Huberman, Director of Education and Outreach at Advocates for Youth and keynote speaker at the Voices from the Field: What We're Learning conference. "By employing a responsible, comprehensive approach to sex education -- an approach that stresses abstinence and includes age-appropriate, medically accurate information about the health benefits of contraception -- California has seen the largest drop in teen birth rates in the nation over the past decade."

California state law does not provide a mandate for comprehensive sex education in public schools. However, the law does clearly state that schools that teach sex education must include medically accurate information about contraception, including condoms.

"It's clear that California's approach is working," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth. "Given the current economy and the scarce resources available for prevention programs, we need to learn from states like California and focus on what works."

Advocates for Youth recently released Science and Success: Sex Education and Other Programs That Work to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV & Sexually Transmitted Infections, a new report which details 19 programs proven to reduce teen risk for pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. Despite their proven effectiveness, none of the sex education programs are eligible for funding through the federal government's multi-year, multi-million dollar abstinence-only-until-marriage initiative because these programs discuss the health benefits of both abstinence and contraception. California remains the only state that does not accept these funds.

"Despite recent success in California, there is still much work to be done," continued Huberman. "California's teen birth rate, while lower than the U.S. national average, remains significantly higher than rates in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. These countries have achieved not only significant reductions in teen births and STDs, but have also created a more positive, healthy approach to sexuality in general."

Ms. Huberman's address comes as she is preparing to lead her sixth European Study Tour for professionals, policy makers, and youth advocates to explore how Germany, France, and the Netherlands have achieved success in the areas of teen sexual health. These countries do a much better job protecting their young people from pregnancy and disease -- for example, the Netherlands, where the teen birth rate is seven times lower than the U.S.; Germany, where the teen gonorrhea rate is 60 times lower than the U.S.; and France, where the teen abortion rate is three times lower than the U.S.

"These countries are more successful when it comes to sexuality because they educate their young people, they base their public policies on research rather than politics, and they encourage open discussions between teens and their parents," said Wagoner. "California has taken a welcome first step towards this direction. Now it's time for the rest of the country to follow this lead and provide young people with the information they need to protect their health."

Advocates for Youth is an international, nonprofit organization that creates programs and advocates for policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

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Note to editors and producers: For more information, or for an interview with Barbara Huberman or other adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at 202-347-5700.