By Karen Cohilas - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – More than 90 girls at one school in Memphis, Tennessee are pregnant or new mothers. It shows that abstinence-only education programs aren't doing enough to prevent teen pregnancy.
LaKisha Bryant, who runs Girls, Inc. in Albany, says abstinence-plus programs are needed. She says a lot of people don't like to talk to their kids about sex and often keep their eyes shut to what their children may be doing.
The reality is, many kids are involved in sexual activity. That's why it's important to provide children with appropriate information and decision making skills early on.
She said, "That Memphis story could be any city in these United States. And if we continue to keep our eyes closed to the issue, if we continue to live in a bubble, where we think if we just tell them no that they're not going to be involved in sexual activity, then we are setting ourselves up to have that number be 90 or that number be even higher right here in Albany, Georgia.:
Girls Inc. strongly encourages abstinence for its participants. Bryant says that message combined with other education is working. Of the thousands of girls who have participated in the past 36 years, only two have become pregnant while involved in the program.
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