NOW - NEW YORK STATE SUPPORT MEMO
A2856 (Gottfried)/S1342 (Winner)
- The Healthy Teens Act
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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 diffusion of sexually transmitted
diseases, 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 pregnancies 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 price to young women and their children. Teen mothers are more
likely not to finish high school or college. Eighty percent are plunged into
poverty. Newborns suffer from greater health risks when born to a teenage mother
with lower birth weights, have a greater chance of experiencing abuse and neglect,
and are more likely to end up in prison or as pregnant teens themselves when
they grow up. Teen pregnancies also come at a high price for taxpayers as well.
Between 1991 and 2004, there were 317,600 teen births, costing the taxpayers
of New York roughly $8.9 billion total during that period.
Additionally, teens are at a high risk of contracting sexually transmitted
diseases. Every year, roughly one in four teens contracts a 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 learning 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 A2856 (Gottfried)/S1342
(Winner).
Marcia A. Pappas, President, NOW-NYS, Inc.
Barbara Kirpatric, Legislative Vice President
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