My shock in reading the Washington Post email was 2 fold; the first being the revival of a plan which doesnt work, the second being an announcement I never expected to read in this paper for a million years (ok, I exaggerate, maybe not at least for another 5-10). Go Wash Post!

U.S. Campaign to Promote Abstinence Begins
Proponents of sex education programs that focus on encouraging abstinence are launching a nationwide campaign aimed at enlisting 1 million parents to support the controversial approach.
(By Rob Stein, The Washington Post)

Health Calendar
REIKI SESSIONS, SESSIONS, 6:30-8 p.m. fourth Thursdays, Radiation Oncology Center, 44035 Riverside Pkwy., Suite 100, Leesburg. A program for cancer patients that aims to recharge and balance the body’s energy systems. Free, registration required. 703-858-8857.
(The Washington Post)

Maybe I have a skewed perspective on teen sexuality because I am in NYC, but abstinence seems to have little effect in these neck of the woods. The recent CDC report about girls with STD’s should spell that out pretty clearly for all parents.

I have a little story to illustrate how active and knowledgeable some teens can be.

On one of my many pediatric rotations, I was at a specialty clinic spending the afternoon seeing patients with my attending. She would send me to meet the next patient to gather all the info so that I could present them to her when she was finished with her prior patient. One of the patients I saw (I’ve changed her profile to protect her identity) was a 15 year old African American girl. She seemed like she was doing pretty well in life; she was going to high school, getting decent grades, wanted to go to college, lived at home with her single mother, was well groomed and kept up with her medical appointments on her own. She came to our clinic for a mild blood disorder check up, yet quietly asked if I could get her a refill on her oral contraceptives.

After I obtained the information pertaining to her presenting medical problem, she and I had sufficient time to discuss her question about contraception then addressed her reproductive health before the attending came. Although she had a history of one abortion at 13, she was sexually active and monogamous with her current boyfriend of 2 years, has been HIV tested (and discussed why she decided to take it) and screened for other STDs.  Her knowledge of STD protection, barrier methods, and oral contraception risks rivaled  mine, and the maturity of her conversations with her boyfriend about reproductive health and the decisions they made together made me wonder if I heard her age correctly.

She certainly changed my perspective on how sophisticated teens can be and how deep their knowledge can reach…