MOAPPP's July 2004 E-Monthly

Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Parenting, a nonprofit organization, is composed of individuals and organizations in Minnesota that work to strengthen policies and programs related to adolescent pregnancy prevention, adolescent pregnancy care and adolescent parenting.

Table of Contents

• Sex Ed for Life coalition member survey!
• Health and physical education still required in Minnesota!
• Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in the U.S.
• American Academy of Pediatrics issues clinical report
  on sexual orientation and adolescents
• Contraception in the United States:
  Current use and continuing challenges
• Child Trends DataBank adds new "What Works" information
• Prevention of repeat pregnancy and early childhood programs for pregnancy prevention
• FDA news
• President Bush speaks out about condom use

Sex Ed for Life coalition member survey!

As the 2004 legislative session has come to a close, we would greatly appreciate your feedback and insight on the workings of the Sex Ed for Life coalition over the past year. Please set aside five minutes to take an online survey. Simply click on this link to access the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=82819517097. If you cannot access the link directly, copy the web address into your internet browser. We appreciate your prompt response. The survey will be available until the end of the business day on Tuesday, July 6th.

Health and physical education still
required in Minnesota!

Health and physical education (HPE) was reinstated as a “required standard” during the 2004 legislative session. Health and physical education are not part of the subject areas required for statewide accountability. The legislative changes defer much of the health and physical education curriculum and graduation requirements to the local school districts. Under the leadership of Jill Birnbaum, the Minnesota American Heart Association has set up a specific website to address HPE issues, legislative updates, and resources for local advocates. Read the conference committee report that includes the new language with regard to health and physical education.

Abstinence-only-until-marriage
programs in the U.S.

New online document from SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.): SIECUS state profiles: A portrait of sexuality education and abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in the States. Take a look at Minnesota’s profile.

American Academy of Pediatrics issues clinical report on sexual orientation & adolescents

There is a "critical need to address and seek to prevent the major physical and mental health problems that confront nonheterosexual youths in their transition to healthy adulthood," state the authors of an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical report published in the June 2004 issue of Pediatrics. The AAP issued its first statement on homosexuality and adolescents in 1983 and revised it in 1993. The report reflects the growing understanding of adolescents of differing sexual orientations and reaffirms the physician's responsibility to provide comprehensive health care and guidance in a safe and supportive environment for all adolescents, including nonheterosexual adolescents and those struggling with issues of sexual orientation.

Frankowski BL and the Committee on Adolescence. 2004. Sexual orientation and adolescents. Clinical Report. Pediatrics 113(6):1827-1832.

Contraception in the United States:
Current use and continuing challenges

New resource on contraceptive use in the United States "Contraception in the United States: Current use and continuing challenges" is a PowerPoint presentation tool that brings together the most current information available on contraceptive use, contraceptive development and barriers to access in the United States, including:
-- the continuing problem of unintended pregnancy;
-- current contraceptive use;
-- newly approved methods and methods under development; and
-- ongoing challenges faced by contraceptive users and providers.

Child Trends DataBank adds new
"What Works" information

The Child Trends DataBank, a popular online resource of indicators of child and youth well-being, has just expanded its "What Works" information. This section now links more than 60 DataBank indicators to information about programs and interventions that influence the development and well-being of young children, as well as additional tables about which programs work for youth.

Prevention of repeat pregnancy and early childhood programs for pregnancy prevention

Two new National Campaign publications address prevention of repeat pregnancy and early childhood programs for pregnancy prevention:

Another chance: Preventing additional births to teen mothers summarizes what is known about additional births to teen mothers, the dimensions of the problem, the factors that seem to increase the chances of such births occurring to teen mothers, their consequences, and the potential for prevention.

Early childhood programs shares evidence that early childhood and elementary school programs can contribute to reduced risk of adolescent pregnancy. This Science Says research brief highlights three such programs that were evaluated and found to be associated with lower risks of pregnancy in adolescence.

FDA news

FDA likely to reverse decision on over-the-counter status for emergency contraceptive Plan B

Internal documents show FDA scientists disagreed with agency's reasons for rejecting over-the-counter status for emergency contraceptive Plan B

FDA to reappoint abortion-rights opponent to Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs

President Bush speaks out about condom use

On June 23, President Bush said that the United States should learn from the experience of countries like Uganda in fighting AIDS, and for the first time embraced the use of condoms to prevent its spread (New York Times).

Since then, a national debate has taken place about the Bush administration's HIV/AIDS policies with several newspapers publishing editorials and opinion pieces in response to President Bush's speech. Summaries of some of them appear on the Kaisernetwork.org Daily Report for Tuesday, June 29, 2004.

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