Editorials Respond To CDC Report Finding 25% Of U.S. Adolescents, Young Women Ages 14 To 19 Have Common STIs

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 14 Mar 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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Several editorials recently responded to a CDC report that found that about 25% of U.S. girls and young women ages 14 to 19 have at least one of four common sexually transmitted infections. The findings, when extrapolated to the general population, show that 3.2 million teenage girls have at least one of four STIs -- chlamydia, herpes simplex virus 2, human papillomavirus or the common parasite trichomoniasis -- according to Sara Forhan, a CDC researcher who led the study (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/12). Summaries appear below.

• Baltimore Sun: The report makes it "clear that abstinence-only curriculums funded by the Bush administration are simply not relevant to large numbers of sexually active teens," a Sun editorial says. According to the Sun, efforts to provide HPV vaccines, comprehensive sex education and annual screenings among young women need to be expanded to "keep more teenagers safe from these preventable diseases" (Baltimore Sun, 3/13).
  
  
• Bergen Record: Although some people are "offended by the assumption that teenagers are having sex and getting diseases from it," the report shows that simply "hoping adolescents are abstaining from sex -- or at least engaging in it responsibly -- isn't working," a Record editorial says." Although delaying and preventing teen sexual activity is a "worthwhile goal for many parents," many experts agree that consistent treatment, screening and education are necessary, the editorial says (Bergen Record, 3/13).
  
  
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "More than bad news, this information should be a wake-up call to parents and political leaders about the importance of giving young people complete information about safe sexual practices," a Post-Gazette editorial says. Comprehensive sex education does not "preclude teaching the value of refraining from sexual relations at an early age, but abstinence education is not enough," the editorial says, concluding, "Ignoring a widespread threat to the health of the nation's young women is too dangerous to sweep under the rug as taboo" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/13).

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