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After reading about the crisis Manatee County is facing in regards to teen pregnancy one thing was evident; the county's approach to abstinence only sexual education is failing miserably. Here are the sobering facts:

Manatee County has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state.

Out of 67 counties, Manatee is the 17th highest; and, in births to teens 10 to 14 years of age, Manatee has the 13th highest rate.

In 2006, one-third of 2,196 ninth-graders surveyed admitted that they had sexual intercourse. This was a 3 percent increase over the 2004 results.

Of the ninth-graders surveyed, one out of 10 acknowledged having had sex with four or more partners.

Manatee County has the 12th highest rate of newly-diagnosed HIV cases and the 12th highest rate of pediatric AIDS cases.

After reading these startling statistics I am sure you will ask yourself how much longer we can tolerate a sexual education program that does not educate our teens on how to protect themselves. The current sexual education program in Manatee County does not teach our teens how to avoid pregnancy, or how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases such as HPV, chlamydia and HIV/AIDS.

Manatee County is facing devastating problems. Many Manatee residents and Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida have supported the concept of a Planned Parenthood in Manatee County that would be focused solely on education and prevention. Planned Parenthood's first message to teens is abstinence and, indeed, tells teens that abstinence is the only foolproof method of prevention. However, the fact is that many teens will continue to be sexually active, Planned Parenthood includes important, life-saving lessons for young people and their families on how to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Besides providing this comprehensive, age-appropriate educational curriculum, Planned Parenthood will also be offering all women in Manatee County the opportunity for gynecological exams, cancer screenings, pregnancy testing and counseling (including adoption referral); and testing and treatment for sexually-transmitted infections, including testing for HIV/AIDS.

Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida announced plans in March to start a limited clinic in Manatee County by the summer of 2008. The location has not yet been decided. The mission of the Bradenton clinic, will be to offer birth control, pregnancy testing, counseling, and STD and HIV testing.

There is still time to make your voice heard and support Florida teens getting the information they need to make healthy decisions - including medically-accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education.TAKE ACTION NOW! to tell your legislators to support policies that provide our youth with the comprehensive sex education they need to protect themselves and make responsible choices.

On November 5th, the University of Florida released a study confirming what we already knew - that the state of sex education in Florida is failing our youth. The very next day, a national report, Emerging Answers 2007, was released by Douglas Kirby, Ph.D., and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The report showed that abstinence-only programs are ineffective, and includes strong evidence that abstinence-only programs do not have any impact on teen sexual behavior.

However, last year, Florida received $10,700,147 in federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Florida is not only the the second largest recipient of federal abstinence-only funds in the nation, but also has the 6th highest rate of teen pregnancy and the 2nd highest rate of annual HIV transmission in the country.

Parents and teachers, working together, know best how to teach the difficult subjects of sex and life skills. But too many schools cater to a narrow minority by allowing abstinence-only programs to censor teachers and exclude parents input.

Teens need and deserve responsible sex education that includes information about abstinence, AND about protection from diseases and pregnancy.

THERE'S STILL TIME Sign the petition telling your legislators that the time has come for statewide standards so all teens learn the facts about sex from trusted and responsible sources.CLICK HERE to sign the petition today