The national abortion rate has slowed its decline recently, according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute. This slowdown is most evident in poor women, whose rate of unintended pregnancies rose by 29%. The study suggested this alarming rise was due to the non-use of contraceptives. Among women living below the poverty line the non-use of contraceptives rose from 8% in 1995 to 14% in 2002. The use or non-use of contraceptives has long been a topic of debate in the United States, and was the subject of this week’s cover story in the New York Times Magazine.
Most agree that sex education based on sound public health evidence is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The question of debate is what to emphasize in the program. The Netherlands has one of the lowest abortion rates in the world (9 per 1,000 women per year, compared to America’s 21 per 1,000 women per year) and STI AIDS Netherlands, the Dutch health education center, credits its low rate to their national sex education program, which promotes the use of condoms and birth control pills. On the other hand, another education program, the ABCs, (which stands for Abstinence, Be Faithful and Condoms) has simultaneously been criticized for its promotion of abstinence and credited with drastically reducing Uganda’s HIV/AIDS prevalence.
A discouraging trend in the rate of unwanted pregnancy and abortion in this country has been revealed, probably due to the increasing non-use of contraceptives. Poor women are the most at risk group for unwanted pregnancy. To reverse this trend, comprehensive sex education has to be stressed, especially among the poor. Most educators agree that delaying sexual activity is the healthiest and most beneficial course for young people to take, for many reasons. And the best way to promote this is through good, sound, science-based sex education.
Again, all agree that unintended pregnancy, and its consequences, including abortion, should be discouraged and should continue to decline in frequency. The best preventative measure is a well-balanced comprehensive educational program, one that doesn’t ignore contraception, a powerful factor in reducing unintended pregnancy and abortion.
Molly Lee is an Earhart Foundation Research Intern at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
