Teenage pregnancy is getting new attention on the big screen and the small screen. Movies like Juno and television shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager focus on how families and friends deal with the unexpected teen pregnancy. In real life, people can watch how celebrities like Jaime Lynn Spears and even political daughters like Bristol Palin are dealing with the situation.
Whether you think it's being influenced by pop culture or not, teen pregnancy is on the rise, according to the centers for disease control. While some conservative organizations support abstinence based sex education, Betty DeFazio of Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region, says they believe abstinence only programs for teens are dangerous.
"While the emphasis all of us want is for our teens to get through school and be successful and not have an un-planned pregnancy, we know that abstinence- only programs don't work and kids make responsible decisions better when they have good information," DeFazio says.
According to DeFazio in 2005, 509 teens gave birth in Onondaga County. In 2006, that number went up to 537.
DeFazio wants to see the state legislature pass something called the healthy teens act.
"The healthy teens act would allow schools and community based organizations that want to provide comprehensive age appropriate sex education a way to do so," DeFazio says.
Planned Parenthood does provide services for teens while there is debate about teens using that service people agree they want to see teenage birth rates go down.
