To the editor:
I strongly agree that it's a great idea to have more teen pregnancy prevention sessions like the one discussed in the story "Teen pregnancy topic at justice center" that appeared in the May 3 edition. The number of teenage girls who become pregnant every year is increasing.
I am a teen mother myself, getting pregnant at 17 and delivering a couple months after my 18th birthday. Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter with all my heart, but it would not be as stressful if she had joined my life once I was already on my feet. We currently live in government housing as I continue my education.
A recent study by the Guttmacher Institute stated that the rate of teenage pregnancy has increased, along with an increase in abortions from that age group. Teens are not going to stop having sex, so I don't think that teaching the abstinence method is working. We must accept the fact that it's not going to stop and teach safe sex instead. That includes the safe and correct use of condoms, spermicide and birth control methods.
I feel that we actually need to do even more to inform young people how hard it is to raise a child while a person is still in school, or even at the beginning of a career. As a matter of fact, I would agree if the government passed a law stating that it was mandatory for females under a certain age to be on birth control.
Carrie Piatt
Steubenville
