Tag Archive for "teen pregnancy"

Posts Tagged teen pregnancy

Hate those terrible NYC teen pregnancy ads? Take action with “No Stigma! No Shame!” campaign

A NYC campaign from the Human Resource Administration “Think Being A Teen Parent Won’t Cost You?” is drawing deserved criticism from reproductive justice leaders and organizations for shaming teen mothers and fathers in the name of reducing early pregnancy rates. Since the ads were unveiled last week boasting such stale and infuriating slogans as “I’m twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen” and “Honestly mom…chances are he won’t stay with you. What will happen to me?” (pictured above), they’ve been pissing off feminists and reproductive justice advocates… and doing nothing for NYC teens outside of shaming and blaming them.

Planned Parenthood has emerged as a leading critic of the campaign, saying ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Surprise! Teen pregnancy rates drop in New York City thanks to birth control in schools

New York City’s teen pregnancy rate has decreased by 27% over the past decade. And Health Commissioner Tom Farley attributes the change, in part, to the provision of contraceptives in public schools.

The New York Daily New writes:

The city has worked to make it easier for kids to get birth control — giving out condoms at schools and making birth control and the morning-after pill available in some school clinics, a sometimes controversial move.

Farley said the numbers show that strategy is working.

“It shows that when you make condoms and contraception available to teens, they don’t increase their likelihood of being sexually active. But they get the message that sex is risky,” he said.

Despite all sorts of hand-wringing that OMG CONDOMS ...

The New York Daily ...

By Jos Truitt • 11 years ago

Why we need sex ed, for real

This infographic collects a lot of important data about teen sexuality and sex education in the US. We absolutely need comprehensive sex ed, and this image includes a lot of evidence why. Part of that is the high rate of unintended pregnancies among teens. But this entire image is framed around preventing teens from getting pregnant, and I can’t get on board with that. I can’t get on board with sex ed that’s about policing other people’s sexual and reproductive decisions. Offering them information so they can make more informed choices? That’s rad. Sex is a part of life, as much as some folks would like to pretend otherwise. So it’s worth being informed about, just like everything else ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Louisiana charter school totally illegally kicks out students for becoming pregnant

You know what is illegal? Suspending students for being pregnant. But apparently a school in Louisiana didn’t get the memo. My colleague Kate Sheppard at MoJo reports:

A public charter school in Louisiana is getting national attention for requiring female students to take pregnancy tests if they are suspected of being pregnant and, if they are, forcing them to leave school. The ACLU of Louisiana sent a letter to the Delhi Charter School on Monday arguing that the policy is unconstitutional and “in clear violation of federal law.”

Delhi is a kindergarten through 12th grade public school in a town by the same name in northeastern Louisiana. Its “student pregnancy policy” states that the school seeks to ensure that students “exhibit ...

You know what is illegal? Suspending students for being pregnant. But apparently a school in Louisiana didn’t get the memo. My colleague Kate Sheppard at MoJo reports:

A public charter school in Louisiana is getting national attention ...

By Lori Adelman • 12 years ago

“Bedsider” Website a Welcome New Resource on Birth Control

While the goal of reducing unwanted pregnancy is certainly admirable (and quite feminist!), the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy has something of a… weird history. In the past, their campaigns have been criticized for being anti-abortion and, paradoxically, for shaming teen moms (see here).

But they’ve always been quite media savvy, a handy skill when you’re trying to raise awareness about teen and unwanted pregnancy. And it seems their media know-how is finally paying off with the exciting launch of their well-designed and resourceful new site Bedsider.

With an explicit focus on providing information on birth control in a fun and comprehensive way to young people and young women in particular, Bedsider manages to avoid all ...

By Lori Adelman • 12 years ago

“Bedsider” Website a Welcome New Resource on Birth Control

With an explicit focus on providing information on birth control in a fun and comprehensive way to young people and young women in particular, Bedsider manages to avoid all ...

By Jos Truitt • 13 years ago

Quick Hit: Candie’s Foundation paid Bristol Palin $262,500

The Candie’s Foundation, which is supposedly focused on preventing teen pregnancy, paid Bristol Palin $262,500 in 2009 according to Think Progress. Meanwhile, they spent only $35,000 on grants for teen pregnancy prevention.

Candie’s Foundation’s framework is problematic to being with, vilifying pregnant and parenting teens and focusing largely on abstinence instead of informed sexuality. As Think Progress saying, “Many critics have pointed out that the Candie’s Foundation appears to be geared towards improving the public image of Cole’s company rather than reducing teen pregnancy.” For duh.

And what did Bristol Palin do for that six figure paycheck? Star in offensive commercials and offer incomprehensible and contradictory statements about abstinence. Yeah, that’s money well spent.

Candie’s Foundation’s framework is ...

By Vanessa • 13 years ago

What We Missed

Check out Jessica‘s great piece on how the Giffords’ shooting highlights the “man up” culture in US politics. Amanda also takes on the gender power issues at hand.

While we should be happy the teen pregnancy rate is at a record low, it’s still far higher than many countries.

Latoya at Racialicious addresses WSJ’s recent piece, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” Yep.

A New Hampshire high school has banned safe sex kits that were being distributed because they contained — the horror! — condoms and lubricant.

A Morman woman’s choices.

Check out Jessica‘s great piece on how the Giffords’ shooting highlights the “man up” culture in US politics. Amanda also takes on the gender power issues at hand.

While we should be happy the ...