Rate of STDs Soars Among Young Californians

The following are excerpts from an October 17, 2007 article appearing in the California Catholic Daily.

“How does Planned Parenthood explain this?”
California Catholic Daily – October 17, 2007

A study published last month in the Californian Journal of Health Promotion reports that in 2005 there were 1.1 million new cases of sexually-transmitted infections among young people in California.

The 1.1 million figure is ten times higher than previously believed, and it means that in the 15-24 age group, diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HPV and HIV now infect almost one out of every four young Californians.

Is this because of a lack of sex-ed in the public schools? Apparently not. According to Chris Weinkopf, editorial-page editor of the Los Angeles Daily News, the California Department of Education reports that “96 percent of California school districts provide comprehensive sexual health education” and all California schools have been required to teach HIV/AIDS prevention education since 1992.

Can we blame the abstinence-only programs promoted by the Bush administration?
Not in California. Weinkopf notes that state law prohibits ‘abstinence-only’ education in the public schools. In addition, California may be the only state in the country that has refused to accept millions of federal dollars for abstinence education.

…

Another factor in the out-of-control disease rates among California children and young adults may be the introduction of the “morning-after” pill. According to testimony offered to the FDA in 2004, sexually-transmitted infections soared in the British Isles when “Plan B” (the morning-after pill) was made available without prescription in 2000. Ignoring the warning signals from the UK, California subsequently became one of the first states to permit the sale of Plan B over-the-counter without an age limit.

< end of excerpts from article >

Read the entire news article here:
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=66b0b863-223e-4357-b06f-e66364e13446

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RELATED INFORMATION:

FPN POLICY PAPER: “Morning-After” Abortion Pills Should be Opposed
http://familypolicy.net/papers-p-383

Pro-Lifers Upset with Bush Over Support for Morning-after Abortion Pill
http://familypolicy.net/map-p-516

Federal Government Makes “Morning-After” Pill Available Over-the-Counter
http://familypolicy.net/map-p-520

NYU LIVEWIRE: Policy Analyst Says Morning After Pill Will Increase Promiscuity
http://familypolicy.net/map-p-556