I found some interesting facts online that would seem to shed light on some of the issues recently raised by other writers.
In the Netherlands, abortion is freely available on demand, yet they have the lowest abortion rate in the world, and the number of complications and maternal deaths for abortion are almost non-existent. How and why does that happen?
First, they make contraception free and widely available, as part of their national health plan. They also have extensive public education on contraception, family planning and sexuality. Some writers to The Forum have stated that teaching kids about sex and contraception will only encourage them to have sex, but Dutch teenagers tend to have sex less often and start at an older age than do American teenagers. The teenage pregnancy rate in the Netherlands is about six times lower than in the U.S.
RELATED
- Letter: Sex education is not 'Satan inspired'
- Letter: Valuable school time should not be wasted on sex education
What we have been doing is obviously not working to anyone's level of satisfaction. Why not try something that works elsewhere?