Have you ever counseled a pregnant 15-year-old who never knew her options to prevent pregnancy? Have you ever hospitalized a 17-year-old for a pelvic
infection caused by a bacteria that she had never heard of? I have. I am an Ob/Gyn, and I've witnessed the human effects of Utah 's STI (sexually transmitted infection) rates increasing more than 50% from 2003-2007.
Despite these sobering realities, I am excited. Why? Because friends of our state, like Rep. Lynn Hemingway, have recognized these problems and proposed a solution that includes greater education. In addition to abstinence-only sex education, parents may finally get the option of choosing a more complete program for their kids in school.
While I applaud the PTA's new program to educate parents, this is not enough. These kinds of programs have been available for years, but parents often have difficulty accessing them. Give parents the most help possible by offering a curriculum-based program to educate their kids with information that could literally save their lives. Teens have a right to know how their bodies work, the true risks associated with different behaviors and ways to decrease or eliminate those risks. As a parent, PTA member, and physician, I firmly believe we cannot go wrong by offering parents choices.
Audrey Jiricko, M.D.
Ogden
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