From: rowe@pender.ee.upenn.edu (Mickey Rowe)
Newsgroups: k12.ed.science
Subject: Re: PREGNANCY SURVEY
Date: 13 Dec 92 22:51:25 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

In article <28852.2B297952@puddle.fidonet.org>
     Jerry.Saville@f2051.n147.z1.fidonet.org (Jerry Saville) writes:

> -=> Quoting Kendra Corsi to All <=-

> KC> 5.  Do you think teenagers should be able to obtain contraceptives
> KC> easier?
>   No.  It only puts undo pressure on both the boy and girl. It is another
>   tool that (generally) the boy uses to pry open the resolve of the intended
>   partner.

Personally I feel that much of Jerry's opinions shouldn't really be
the subject of a newsgroup devoted to science.  However, some of his
comments (like this one) can provide a good platform for us to use to
kick around ideas about the role of science in understanding and
shaping society.

By making a claim about what boys "generally" do with contraceptives,
Jerry has made a testable prediction.  His claim is thus amenable to
scientific investigation, allowing us potentially to use the fruits of
science to frame our decision in what is essentially a social issue.
Note that I am *not* saying that science always can or should be used
for making decisions that affect us as a society.  What I am saying is
that there are times when science can help, and as part of a
well-rounded science education, you should come to understand in what
ways science can help, and when it is being used inappropriately.

If you feel that society should not distribute condoms because boys
will use them to "pry open the resolve of [their] intended
partner[s]", then you can ask in a scientific fashion if this
reasoning is justified.  Jerry has predicted (whether he knows it or
not) that if you were to survey girls in high schools, you would find
a population of girls who feel that their boyfriends had used condoms
(or perhaps birth control in general) to convince them to have sex.
If you agree with Jerry's reasoning above, then you should try to test
his prediction.  If it turns out to be false, then you *must* accept
that if you still wish not to have condoms (or other forms of birth
control) distributed, then you should have another reason.  (I'm not
implying that Jerry has no other reasons--I think we've already seen
evidence that he does.)

> KC> 6.  Should a teenage girl be able to obtain an abortion without
> KC> the consent of her parents or guardian?
>   Again, no. These are decisions that even adults find hard to make. Why
>   does society burden our young people with this?

If teenage girls couldn't get pregnant, this would be a non-issue.  It
is not "society" that has placed this burden (other than perhaps by
offering an alternative to carrying the fetus to term), but rather
biology.

> 10.  Do you think that
> KC> sex education classes has reduced the number
> KC> of teenage pregnancies?
>   I am not up on the statistics, but I doubt it. Do you think that teaching
>   kids how to shoot up is going to reduce the amount of junkies on the
>   streets?

Jerry's doubts notwithstanding, you might want to look at the latest
issue of Newsweek.  There is an article there about Norplant, and
whether or not school clinics should be allowed to implant it into the
arms of girls in the inner cities.  The article briefly discusses some
facets of the core issue here: what role should the public schools
play in dealing with teen sexuality?  My impression is that Jerry's
doubts are completely unjustified.

Jerry thinks that sex education is analogous to "teaching kids how to
shoot up", and that it encourages a behavior he dislikes.  We could
shoot opinions back and forth on subjects like this forever, but would
it not be better to collect evidence in a systematic way?

From my terminal I have access to a vast database of scientific
articles relating to biology and medicine.  I just performed a search
on "teen and pregnancy".  This search pulled up 31 articles published
during the last two years, perhaps the most appropriate being:

McCullough M., Scherman A. (1991). "Adolescent pregnancy: contributing
     factors and strategies for prevention." _Adolescence_, 26(104):
     809-16. 

Our library system carries this journal.  Since I recognize that many
of you don't have access to the things I do, I'm willing to mail a
copy of this article to anyone who can't get it themselves, and who
will send me an address.  If too many people ask, though, I may ask
for compensation for the costs of copying and postage.

> 11.  Is teenage pregnancies higher in big
> KC> cities as compared to
> KC> little cities? (population density)
>   I have no idea. I grew up in a small town, and we had our share of
>   young parents in high school.

The first sentence of the abstract to another paper that my search
pulled up reads:

      A survey of adolescents and adults was conducted to assess the
      causes of the teen pregnancy problem in one rural community.

At least you can conclude the "problem" is severe enough to merit
notice in at least one rural area.


> 17.  What is your personal view on the outrageous number
> KC> of teenage
> KC> pregnancies?
>
>  I could write on this subject for pages, but I'll be brief. Have you looked
>  in a magazine lately? What do you see on the cover? Some scantily dressed
>  and impossibly beautiful woman with this "come hither" look on her face.
>  And how about the adds? Scenes with men and women permantly entangled with
>  one another. And how about the popular sit-coms? The topic of the day is
>  sex! 

Jerry is asking you to believe that magazines *cause* our
preoccupation with sex and therefore teen pregnancy.  This too leads
to testable predictions, and hence is subject to scientific
investigation.  As an exercise, I invite you to come up with ways to
test Jerry's ideas to see if they can stand up to empirical scrutiny.

Let me close by stating emphatically that science can NOT make
decisions for you.  As a method it gives us tools for informing our
(your) decisions.  If you wish to use those tools, however, it is your
responsibility to see to it that you use them appropriately, and
beware of those who claim to use them in order to give their ideas an
air of authority.

>Internet: Jerry.Saville@f2051.n147.z1.fidonet.org

Mickey Rowe     (rowe@pender.ee.upenn.edu)
Newsgroups: k12.ed.science