Adolescents need all info available

I wanted to give Danica Esau my praise for shedding much-needed light on the issue of teen pregnancy. (April 11 article, “The belly that schocked and a fooled a school.”) As a student of social work, I cannot fully condone her methods, but I am inspired by her motives. Pregnant teenagers are a social issue that gets a lot of negative stereotypes, and little in the way of social, financial or political support. The fact of the matter is, adolescents will have sex whether you tell them to or not.

Danica has brought to the public’s attention the discrimination that thousands of teenage girls face every year. Many are asked to leave their current school for alternative high schools. Many are given dirty looks and promiscuous labels. Many are ignored by peers and teachers until the problem goes away, “out of sight, out of mind.”

Although legislation supporting a wider opportunity for sex education in public schools is gaining momentum, I feel the policies in place are not enough to start decreasing teen pregnancy rates. By following education models used in European countries, we may be able to decrease the number of girls becoming pregnant, the drain on public assistance and the social and familial stress that comes with helping a teenager raise a baby.

I do not want to imply that religion, morals and American values be thrown out the window. What I would like to point out is this: Helping adolescents make informed, mature decisions can only benefit the community. It cannot hurt to educate the youth surrounding us with all the information that is available to them. After all, these kids are the future, and if we don’t educate them, who will?

Lori McLean