According to HealthDay News: "As many as one in four U.S. teenage girls have had a sexually transmitted disease (STD), many infected soon after their first sexual encounter, a new government report shows." The report will be published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics.
"This is very worrisome," says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. "So many of these STDs can cause havoc later in life in terms of reproductive function. One in four is not only alarming, but also absolutely unnecessary. Kids are so worried about getting pregnant and nothing else, so they take a birth control pill and forget about other risks. This is a problem with long-term consequences."
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross agrees: "These diseases could be prevented to a very large degree if not 100 percent by safe sex practices, meaning the use of condoms. While abstinence is another sure method of avoiding STDs, it is not a realistic approach for the large majority of teens, and indeed studies have shown that the rate of STDs among those allegedly practicing abstinence is about the same as in the general population."
