BATMAN
03-01-2006, 10:46 AM
Utah falls short when it comes to helping women prevent unwanted pregnancies, a new national report found.
The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, has ranked the states and Washington, D.C., on contraceptive efforts. It found that Utah was near the bottom of the list, at 47.
Half of the 6 million American pregnancies each year are unplanned. Of those, 1.3 million end in abortion.
The federal government has set a national goal to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by 40 percent by 2010. To see where progress is needed, the Guttmacher Institute assessed the states on their success in helping women obtain contraception and correctly use it.
Its report scored states on the availability of clinics that provide contraception, laws and policies, and public funding.
Utah was criticized for having an inadequate number of family planning clinics. Of the estimated number of low-income women who need contraception, 27 percent are served by family planning clinics. A similar percentage of teens in need are served by the clinics.
Utah got the worst marks for sex education because the state has an abstinence-only education policy that restricts talk about birth control in schools.
That policy "hasn't had good evaluation," said Planned Parenthood Director Karrie Galloway. "There are kids who need more than abstinence-only education. The schools are afraid to deal with it."
Terry Haven, the Kids Count director for Voices for Utah Children, agreed.
"The problem happens when the parents don't take up the responsibility to talk to their children about sex," Haven said. "A lot of parents are uncomfortable talking about sex, and their children are uneducated about it."
Galloway pointed out that the so-called "pill bill" has failed for the eighth year in a row. Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt
Lake City, sponsored a bill that would have required health insurance companies to cover the costs of birth control pills and other contraception for women. Most of them already do.
"The Legislature doesn't want to deal with anything that has to do with sex," Galloway said. "We have a state that is so focused on abortion they can't see any other issues. Lawmakers never look at prevention."
Another bill under consideration would make doctors notify a minor girl's parents of an abortion before the procedure.
"That would just make teens go out of state or self-abort," Galloway said.
On the bright side, Utah's teen pregnancy rate declined by 18 percent between 1992 and 2000.
"That's happening all over the country," Haven said. "We want our children to not have sex when they're not ready for it.
But they are having sex, and the rates of sexually transmitted diseases are going up."
Last year, 854 Utah teenagers between ages 15 and 17 had babies, she said. And the rates for chlamydia and gonorrhea continue to climb.
In other categories, Utah has no law guaranteeing access to emergency contraception and allows pharmacists or health care providers to refuse to distribute contraceptives.
The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, has ranked the states and Washington, D.C., on contraceptive efforts. It found that Utah was near the bottom of the list, at 47.
Half of the 6 million American pregnancies each year are unplanned. Of those, 1.3 million end in abortion.
The federal government has set a national goal to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by 40 percent by 2010. To see where progress is needed, the Guttmacher Institute assessed the states on their success in helping women obtain contraception and correctly use it.
Its report scored states on the availability of clinics that provide contraception, laws and policies, and public funding.
Utah was criticized for having an inadequate number of family planning clinics. Of the estimated number of low-income women who need contraception, 27 percent are served by family planning clinics. A similar percentage of teens in need are served by the clinics.
Utah got the worst marks for sex education because the state has an abstinence-only education policy that restricts talk about birth control in schools.
That policy "hasn't had good evaluation," said Planned Parenthood Director Karrie Galloway. "There are kids who need more than abstinence-only education. The schools are afraid to deal with it."
Terry Haven, the Kids Count director for Voices for Utah Children, agreed.
"The problem happens when the parents don't take up the responsibility to talk to their children about sex," Haven said. "A lot of parents are uncomfortable talking about sex, and their children are uneducated about it."
Galloway pointed out that the so-called "pill bill" has failed for the eighth year in a row. Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt
Lake City, sponsored a bill that would have required health insurance companies to cover the costs of birth control pills and other contraception for women. Most of them already do.
"The Legislature doesn't want to deal with anything that has to do with sex," Galloway said. "We have a state that is so focused on abortion they can't see any other issues. Lawmakers never look at prevention."
Another bill under consideration would make doctors notify a minor girl's parents of an abortion before the procedure.
"That would just make teens go out of state or self-abort," Galloway said.
On the bright side, Utah's teen pregnancy rate declined by 18 percent between 1992 and 2000.
"That's happening all over the country," Haven said. "We want our children to not have sex when they're not ready for it.
But they are having sex, and the rates of sexually transmitted diseases are going up."
Last year, 854 Utah teenagers between ages 15 and 17 had babies, she said. And the rates for chlamydia and gonorrhea continue to climb.
In other categories, Utah has no law guaranteeing access to emergency contraception and allows pharmacists or health care providers to refuse to distribute contraceptives.