Finally, some medical common sense around teens and contraception, but in the Bush era it ends up sounding like defiance when the American Academy of Pediatrics declares that all teens, abstinent or not, need to have education about and access to birth control as a matter of health. AND that the Academy is updating its 1998 policy to remove the statement that "abstinence counseling is an important role for all pediatricians" because evidence shows that abstinence-only interventions are not effective.
From the AP: Teaching abstinence but not birth control makes it more likely that once teenagers initiate sexual activity they will have unsafe sex and contract sexually transmitted diseases, said Dr. S. Paige Hertweck, a pediatric obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Louisville who provided advice for the report.
The report, released today in the journal Pediatrics, is refreshingly unambiguous. It says pediatricians should "Help ensure that all adolescents have knowledge of and access to contraception including barrier methods and emergency contraception supplies."
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