Prevention is only cure to reduce abortion rate
The Pennsylvania Health Department this week offered sobering news for Fayette and Greene counties. Abortions increased dramatically in 2001. In Fayette, 215 women ended their pregnancies, a 16.2 percent increase from the year before. Some 63 Greene women, up 23.5 percent from the previous year, turned to abortion. If the state as a whole experienced such a drastic increase, these numbers wouldn’t be as alarming. But Pennsylvania logged just a 3.3 percent increase.
Parents, educators and social service agencies in Fayette and Greene need to take a good, hard look at these numbers. Despite more terminations, the number of teen births continued to rise. According to the Health Department 212 girls gave birth in 2001, up from 204 in 2000. The numbers in Greene are much more dramatic: 63 babies were born to teen mothers in 2001, up from 39 the year before.
Obviously if both abortions and teen-age motherhood are on the rise, there is a problem that needs addressed. Schools are often reluctant to put in place programs that teach both young men and women about birth control, the consequences of youthful sex and where to turn for contraceptives if the decision is made to become sexually active. Parents, of course, should be the primary teachers of sex education but it is a course far too many neglect to teach. Some even pressure school districts to censor what little sex education classes that they do offer.
Ignorance can and does lead to unplanned pregnancies.
The Health Department’s annual abortion report should not be used as a battleground for the pro-choice and pro-life sects. Instead the focus should be centered on preventing teen-age pregnancies. Despite one’s stance on the abortion debate, this is a goal that should be agreeable to all.