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Colorado’s Effort Against Teenage Pregnancies Is a Startling Success
- keedot 11y agoHow is this startling?
- sneak 11y agoCondoms are free.
- jkestner 11y agoCondoms have lower compliance and higher failure rates.
- nugga 11y agoCircumcised men especially do not like to use condoms because it greatly reduces pleasure as their glans is already number and more worn than a normal penis.
- kale 11y agoCheck out this series of charts. Each method of contraception in its own chart, and "perfect use" and "typical use" are both plotted. Out of 100 couples using a condom as birth control, 55 will have an unplanned pregnancy in 4 years with typical usage (8 out of 100 with perfect usage). http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/14/sunday-review/unplanned-pregnancies.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/14/sunday-review/...
- eli_gottlieb 11y agoTo teenagers? Where?
- explorigin 11y agoIn my state, teenagers can get them for free from the health department.
- knodi123 11y agoand can teenagers get to the health department for free? :-/ you're coming dangerously close to quoting the vogon from hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy: > There’s no point in acting all surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for fifty of your Earth years so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaints and its far too late to start making a fuss about it now. > What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh for heaven sake mankind it’s only four light years away you know! I’m sorry but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs that’s your own regard. Energise the demolition beams! God I don’t know…apathetic bloody planet, I’ve no sympathy at all…
- explorigin 11y agoWell my mom works for the health department and she passes them out all the time. So I'd say transportation is not an issue for some of them.
- knodi123 11y agoWhere and why does she do that? Competing anecdote: when I was a teen, I had no idea what the health department was, or what it did, and I never met an employee of the health department.
- explorigin 11y agoIf you look at my github profile, you'll see that I'm in Oklahoma and because it's her job. I'm sorry you didn't have access to taxpayer funded condoms when you were a teenager. Why so much criticism? Do you feel somehow that you were treated unfairly? If so, by whom?
- pervycreeper 11y agoIt's a novel top-down initiative which has been very successful.
- JupiterMoon 11y agoReally not novel. Only novel in the US.
- schimmy_changa 11y agoThis result is "startling" because "startling" is great as a clickbait word. I really wish HN was less susceptible to clickbait...
- sneak 11y agoI wonder what these sorts of barrier-free contraception methods are doing to STI rates.
- a8da6b0c91d 11y agoNobody ever mentions the problems with environmental pollution and human cancer with chemical contraception. It's very conspicuous. If it were any other product the downsides would be heavily discussed. http://i.imgur.com/S8RCxEe.jpg http://i.imgur.com/S8RCxEe.jpg
- jkestner 11y agoHere they're not being discussed because this program is not using oral contraceptives. IUDs and implants.
- a8da6b0c91d 11y agoBoth of which use the same hormones. They're not using copper IUDs, I doubt.
- XorNot 11y agoAnd birth control hormones are not the cause of increased oestrogen-mimics in the waterways - instead it's plastics, soy and shampoo.
- pavel_lishin 11y agoI tend to distrust quotes that use terms like "the barren left" - it's clearly not aimed at me, someone who Steven Mosher would probably lump into that category. Isn't the dumping of antibiotics causing similar problems? The problem doesn't seem to be birth control itself, but improper disposal of household chemicals, really. Also, do you have a citation for the cancer thing you mentioned?
- a8da6b0c91d 11y ago
- austenallred 11y agoSo you're seeing that giving kids birth control reduces teen pregnancy? Shocking. Everyone knew this would happen, but some believe that giving teens birth control is encouraging them to have sex, so initiatives like this are almost always blocked. It's very much a political problem.
- pavel_lishin 11y agoIt's very much a "we're not fighting teen pregnancy, we're fighting teen sex" problem.
- dylanjermiah 11y ago>but some believe that giving teens birth control is encouraging them to have sex I don't understand, encouraging them to use contraception while having sex (and perhaps lead to more intercourse)? or encourage more unprotected sex?
- aidos 11y agoEncouraging them to have sex at all, presumably. If you help with contraception, it's an implicit endorsement of sexual intercourse (at least, that's what many would argue).
- noelwelsh 11y agoA vocal chunk of the US still believes that access to contraception will lead to a mass outbreak of fucking amongst the youth. Look in this very thread and you will see much hang-wringing about STI rates, which is a code-word for OMG-the-youth-are-getting-it-on. As if they weren't already (pregnancy rates are dropping ...), as if this was somehow wrong (if anything is natural, sex is), as if there were huge surges of STI rates in countries without these hangups about sex, and so on.
- balls187 11y agoThe former. The logic certain politicians in the US use is that the only acceptable form of birth control the government can support is abstinence. This is often tied to Judeo-christian beliefs, and often used to gain favor with the conservative base. If the consequences of sex (i.e. pregnancy) are mitigated, it will encourage teenagers to have sex. Typically there is some form of slut shaming that happens during the debate on birth control.
- explorigin 11y agoI wonder if there was also an increase in STDs. The article makes no mention.
- breitling 11y agoI was thinking the same thing. They have less of an incentive to use protection with this device implanted. Let's wait and see until the STD numbers surface. Ultimately, what's cheaper? Having a baby or taking care of an STD? Perhaps the benefits outweigh the costs.
- agentdrtran 11y agoTaking care of an STD will be cheaper for the individual and the state, without question.
- kabouseng 11y agoa Baby might grow up, become a professional and be a net win by paying taxes. I don't think that's a possible outcome with STD's.
- explorigin 11y agoOr the baby might grow up and be a drug-addict or a deadbeat and leech benefits from the state. Statistically this one is more likely.
- danesparza 11y agoI'm not entirely sure about that. The long term effects of certain STD's will require hospitalization, doctor's visits, and medication. If these programs target teens and poor people, this demographic would also struggle to pay for those things as well -- and they would need to use them for a more protracted period than 10-18 years. Also: Birth control might give a false sense of security leading to more casual sex and a surging rate of STDs. That last theory makes STDs noticeably absent from the article.
- rubiquity 11y agoDon't IUDs have a lot of negative impacts on a woman/teenage girl's health? I seem to remember there was a study about bleeding, irregular menstral periods, and an increase in urine tract infections. It seems irresponsible to give a device like that out to any teenager that wants one. Not that pills are any better. It doesn't matter what direction the arrow on the graph is pointing if the way you got there is by potentially hurting people.
- noelwelsh 11y agoAll medical treatments are a trade-off.
- Geeek 11y agoYups. My SO has the most unpredictable periods since she got her IUD. It's a huuuuge tradeoff that we are not sure it worth it in the long run.
- KirinDave 11y agoThat may be true, but many women upon receiving an IUD actually find that after a few months their menstrual cycles stabilize and decrease. It's such a pronounced effect that doctors use certain types of IUDs to help stabilize certain conditions. It doesn't help everyone with this, but it helps enough people that it's worth trying.
- JupiterMoon 11y agoNot your job to police women's bodies. If she is fully informed and wishes to use one then this is her personal decision. Not yours.
- rubiquity 11y agoThat's completely fair! I'm not trying to make the decision for anyone and I'm not sure where you got that from my post. But isn't it a bit irresponsible for something as large/respected as an entire State to put their backing behind something with pretty well known, negative tradeoffs? Is it OK for a large body of authority to support something that will harm you as long as they leave it to the individual's choice to use it or not? Where do we draw the line on this?
- s_q_b 11y agoIUDs have an excellent success rate and safety profile. They can cause problems, but from a societal perspective, it may be worth it. Really we need non-invasive male birth control, as soon as possible.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- XorNot 11y agoI would argue invasive is fine, what we need is reliably reversible. Vasectomies can be reversed, but it's a big if at any juncture.
- s_q_b 11y agoEven injection at the site will result in high rates of patient non-compliance. There's been some work done in India with temporary implants. However, I believe if we are to reach zero unintended pregnancies, the male procedures need both medical and reversibly surgical options.
- shoo 11y agoIn my opinion this is obviously a pretty good thing to do, and it is fantastic to see it is happening. Dear world: let's see more of this kind of thing, please. > But the experiment in Colorado is entering an uncertain new phase that will test a central promise of the Affordable Care Act: free contraception.
- caseyf7 11y agoHere's the link to the study referenced in the article. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1400506 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1400506
- webjprgm 11y agoI don't think 2-3 partners is really low. I find it hard to imagine most people being successful at seducing a very large number of people. Probably in most cases it is <= the number of boyfriends the girl has had. I could also point out that my church would consider 2-3 partners something akin to "running wild". One partner, one time could be a lapse in judgement. Multiple partners or one partner multiple times indicates a pattern.
- balls187 11y ago>I could also point out that my church would consider 2-3 partners something akin to "running wild". One partner, one time could be a lapse in judgement. Multiple partners or one partner multiple times indicates a pattern. Thankfully, this type of puritanical thinking is on the decline in America.
- jdross 11y agoAs a counterpoint, 85% of the gains were found in neighboring counties without the program. Teenage birth rates are plummeting everywhere. Questionable source, but data and linked study appear correct: http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/385884/no-one-program-did-not-reduce-colorados-teen-pregnancy-rate-40-percent-callie-gable http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/385884/no-one-program-d...
- archgoon 11y agoInteresting, thanks for the reference. Though paragraphs like "But these “linear trend lines” based on the three previous years of data aren’t really useful. The authors’ projection shows that births would actually increase a bit during the period CFPI was put in place, despite the fact that, like the abortion rate, the teen birth rate is declining nationally, noticeably and steadily." are somewhat bizarre. The entire point of using the trend lines is to take into account, well, the trend. Still, good to know the counterarguments, otherwise you're just listening to the echo chamber of "Well, of COURSE the program would work!"
- hiou 11y agoIndeed national averages during that period trend similarly. http://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/birth-rates-chart-2000-2011-text.htm http://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/birth-rates-chart-200...
- irq-1 11y agoThe 2007-2013 numbers for 'All' show about 40% drop, but: it's a longer period (than 2009-2013), and there's a very sharp decline between 2007 and 2009, which would make the national numbers worse when compared to the same period.
- KirinDave 11y agoIt's almost like having fewer women present in a 50mi radius that can get pregnant reduces local pregnancy chance...
- hammock 11y ago>Colorado’s Effort Against Teenage Pregnancies Is a Startling Success Any time I see a headline like this, I have to look for the discussion about what unintended consequences were observed. There usually are some, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Some commenters have already mentioned negative health effects, spread of STDs, environmental impact, social consequences. I found no such discussion in this article.
- KirinDave 11y agoProbably because it's entirely outside the scope and would only be useful to people trying to derail the conversation. It's not like IUDs suddenly stop other safe sex practices. It's not Sex MMO where your "Contraceptive Equipment Slot" only can fit one item per party.
- nsgi 11y agoWhy would it be outside the scope? It's intuitive that decreasing the "price" of one form of contraception would decrease demand for weak substitutes, so it is one possible and very negative effect of the policy.
- KirinDave 11y agoHonestly I'm not sure where to begin in the time I have here to write with you... Consider that IUD usage overlaps only partially with other practices for starters.
- rickdale 11y agoThis is interesting because I always claim that the reverse is true where I live. Like, getting pregnant is glorified to young girls. The conspiracy theorist in me says that the gov does that to occupy peoples lives. It's like, they have nothing better to do so lets make having a baby seem like the greatest thing in the world. So in my view, this goes both ways.
- csours 11y agoThe conspiracy theorist in you may want to look to society, hormones, and evolution as well.
- webjprgm 11y agoSince all my comments so far have sounded like I oppose giving out contraceptives (since I am very much a proponent of moral living), let me clarify. I think it is great to help lift people out of poverty. Since there is a trend among poor teenagers to have more unplanned pregnancies it makes sense to address that problem, and this is one possible step. I do not think it should replace teaching abstinence. But I also don't think that teaching abstinence using scare tactics in school is all that effective. Religious and moral teachings are much more so. So it still comes down to the responsibility of parents to teach their children correct life principles. Let the government give free contraceptives to at-risk populations. But also encourage parents to teach good morals.
- true_religion 11y agoJust so I can have another data point in my anecdote web. May I ask you if you mean 'abstinence till marriage', if you abstained till marriage and at what age you got married.
- facepalm 11y agoI've heard that unwanted pregnancies are more frequent in the "wait till married" crowd. That is because they are unlikely to have condoms with them when their emotions overwhelm them. They don't account for their changed decision making process when aroused. (Source: Dan Ariely's Irrationality MOOC).
- MichaelGG 11y agoThat's what I've seen from personal experience. Thinking along the lines of: Birth control's for sluts, and I'm not like that, so I don't need that, this is special, etc.
- apta 11y agoPerhaps they should discourage teenagers from sleeping with each other. As far as I know, teenage pregnancy is not an issue in conservative Middle Eastern cultures for instance.