Evaluating the dollar-a-day program's effectiveness in reducing teenage pregnancy

Teenage Pregnancy

The Dollar-a-Day Program

The largest problem that is faced is that it must be decided whether to agree with the program and try to keep it going, or whether to work to get it stopped. This is not something that is easy to determine, as there are pros and cons no matter which choice is deemed the right one, and the Dollar-a-Day Program, while there are problems with it, has helped many young women get through trying times and avoid a second pregnancy. However, the concern is that it does not actually fix the problem, but simply postpones it for a year or two.

Objectives for making this decision should include:

Determining what is best for young women to keep their pregnancy rate low.

Remaining true to the goals of Planned Parenthood.

Keeping the program if it is seen to be effective and worthwhile.

Criteria

Is the program effective?

Does the program violate what Planned Parenthood stands for?

Is there another (better) way to lower the teenage pregnancy rate?

Is paying girls not to get pregnant unethical?

Alternatives

There are various policy alternatives that also must be considered when deciding what to do about this issue. The main one, however, is whether the Dollar-a-Day Program is in line with the policy that Planned Parenthood has. The organization tends to be very pro-choice, and paying girls not to have babies would appear to go against that. However, it is no secret that the teenage pregnancy rate has been rising in many areas of the country, especially in the underprivileged, minority population. Policies that reduce this could be beneficial to society.

Recommendations

Ideally, parents should have the responsibility of teaching their children what Planned Parenthood and other organizations teach them, but it is often being left up to various organizations, as more and more parents decide that they are too busy to instill real values in their children. These organizations have a wonderful opportunity to take this unfortunate lack of societal interest and make it as positive as possible.

It is important to think of various ways that these young women can be helped, and the Dollar-a-Day Program is only one way to address this issue. Another good way to help teenagers make good choices is by giving them good role models. Popular teens at school are often looked up to, but they are not necessarily good role models. Not all of them engage in the very behavior the schools are trying to prevent, but it seems that too many of them do. There are other ways for teens to connect with each other, however.

Teen hotlines are becoming more popular with some communities, as teens can talk to other teens without the fear that their parents will have to be told. Some things should be told to parents -- a teenager who is seriously contemplating suicide, for example -- but there are many problems that parents don't need to be aware of. Their teenagers can work most of them out on their own, but only if they have all the facts. Getting all of the facts comes from talking with other teens, learning about sex education in school, and having adults around that are willing to be honest and straightforward without badgering the teen into silence. Parents naturally want to protect teenagers, and so do organizations that are there to help them, but there are ways to handle that, and badgering and threatening will not be affective. Most teenagers don't talk to adults about sex because they are afraid the adults will only get angry, tell them they are too young, forbid them to see a certain person, etc. While this does sometimes happen, it is not always the case.

A responsible teenager who comes to a parent with the truth about their feelings and desires, as well as their desire to be careful and protected, is more likely to get parental understanding and advice than the one who sneaks around and doesn't say anything to anyone until they get caught. Too often these teenage girls 'get caught' by becoming pregnant and then needing to tell their parents, who might not have even been aware that their child was sexually active.

Some schools and organizations give out condoms, and this is a consideration that many organizations might want to look at, however they should be prepared for a great deal of talk among parents as to whether their children should be allowed to get something so personal without parental knowledge. Hopefully, many parents would feel that their teenagers were at least being responsible, but not all parents would, and the condom issue could become a problem. Still, it is an intervention strategy worth considering.

The bottom line is that Planned Parenthood should do everything it can, and everything that the parents and society will allow, to get the rate of teenage pregnancy down. While it won't ever go away, it is possible to reduce the rate to something that society is more comfortable with. The only way to do this is to get in there with the young people, find out what they need to know, and discover why they aren't learning it. or, if they are learning it, why aren't they taking that knowledge into everyday life. In the meantime, however, the Dollar-a-Day Program can help.