NOW - NEW YORK STATE SUPPORT MEMO
Healthy Teens Act
A1806 (Gottfried) S3836 (Duane)
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March 2009
An Act to amend the public health law and the state finance law, in relation to establishing the age-appropriate sex education grant program, to be referred to as the Healthy Teens Act.
The National Organization for Women-New York State, Inc. strongly supports the Healthy Teens Act, which would establish a sex education grant program through the department of health. The results of such legislation, including fewer teen pregnancies and a lower rate transmission of STDs, would be extremely advantageous to women in New York State.
According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, New York State currently accounts for roughly seven percent of all teen pregnancies in the United States. New York State’s rate of teen pregnancy exceeds that of the rest of the country at ninety-one per one thousand, compared to the nation’s rate of eighty-four per one thousand. These teen pregnancies come at a high cost to young women and their children. Teen mothers are less likely to finish high school or college. Eighty percent are plunged into poverty. Newborns of teenage mothers are at higher risk of low birth weight and therefore suffer from greater health risks. They also have a greater chance of experiencing abuse and neglect, and are more likely to end up in prison or as pregnant teens themselves. Teen pregnancies also come at a high cost for taxpayers. Between 1991 and 2004, there were 317,600 teen births, costing the taxpayers of New York roughly $8.9 billion.
Additionally, teens are at a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Every year, roughly one in four teens contracts an STD, and about half of all new STDs in America occurred among youth ages fifteen to twenty-four.
Education is vitally important in helping to prevent teen pregnancies and the transmission of STDs among teens in New York State. Teens must be informed of their options when it comes to sex, and this education should be provided by and funded by the state so that it is available to all of New York’s adolescents. Teaching teens to protect themselves and their sexual partners, and nurturing appropriate parental involvement in the sexual decisions of teens will be extremely beneficial to New York State’s young women, families, taxpaying citizens, and future generations of children. The Healthy Teens Act will help to ensure that fewer adolescent girls suffer from unwanted pregnancies and STDs. The National Organization for Women – New York State, Inc. strongly urges the New York Legislature to support the passage of the Healthy Teens Act
Marcia A. Pappas, President, NOW-NYS, Inc.
Barbara Kirkpatrick, Legislative Vice President
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