Sometimes it seems as though good news about personal responsibility, public health, and the family is hard to come by in the City of Milwaukee. This makes the news from the JS this morning about the continued decline in the rate of teenage pregnancy all the more welcome. Milwaukee continued its year-over-year drop in 2007 by a particularly large margin–one that departed significantly from the national trend, which saw the rate of such pregnancies actually rise last year.
Although it is always difficult to attribute statistical shifts like these to any particular cause or causes, the JS editorial board does its best, suggesting that a couple of recent ”landmark” reports by the United Way made a difference. I am not in a position to second guess that conclusion, and I am sure (as the JS is) that a complicated mix of factors can share in the credit. Various experts in the JS story note Milwaukee’s six-year No Condom, No Way campaign. The story doesn’t provide statistics about apparent teen sexual activity during the same time period, but it would defy reason to believe that this good news can be attributable to abstinence alone (though hopefully abstinence too is partly responsible.)
Overall, however, there can be no real doubt that awareness matters, and that one major aspect of awareness is sexual education. Efforts by MPS to improve in this area are commendable, if not a bit tardy. Here’s hoping that Milwaukee kids continue to be exposed to an abstinence-and-safe-sex ed program, and that this declining trend continues.
[Sidenote: I won't hold my breath to see if we'll hear Charlie Sykes address this topic this morning.]
Tags: Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, teen pregnancy
