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From: jin@hropus.UUCP (Bear)
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: teens
Message-ID: <339@hropus.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 13:52:02 EST
Article-I.D.: hropus.339
Posted: Mon Mar 10 13:52:02 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Mar-86 02:32:43 EST
References: <2009@uwmacc.UUCP> <41400003@uiucdcs>
Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 20

I have been following this discussion on telling a 16 year old daughter
about contraception.  I was not going to respond because  I am not a
parent and thought that this discussion should be left to parents.
However the 18 year old "responsible" daughter's self righteous advice
has left me shaking.

Who is she, by inuendo, to call those teens who practice sex sluts?
Or does she (or her classmates, although if she doesn't agree why quote
them?) only refer to the women as sluts?  What stigmatization!
To suggest that a 16 year old would be insulted by contraceptive
literature (or for that matter, material) provided tactfully by a loving
and concerned parent is ridiculous.  Besides, better to insult 99
teens than to have the 100th suffer the consequences of an unplanned
pregnancy.  I am sadly aware that the teen pregnancy rate
(the highest amoung "developed" nations) is quite a bit higher than 1%.
-- 
			Jerry Natowitz
			ihnp4!houxm!hropus!jin (official)
			ihnp4!opus!jin         (temporary) 
			Institute for the Study of Non-existent Phenomena