One of the things that people have been talking about when it comes to teen pregnancy has been in the news over the past week and it was the topic of the previous post in this blog: it’s the fact that the USA Today pulled an ad that was geared towards parents and encouraging them to talk about sexuality with their teen. The problem, they said, is that the ad might offend some of their readers.

Over at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy blog, this was the comment that was made:

Now, I’m the last person to impugn the rights of freedom of speech - USA Today has the right to do and print whatever they deem appropriate. Their 11th hour rejection of the ad doesn’t make them bad or unfair. Instead, I’d argue that it just makes them gigantic ‘fraidy cats. For a major newspaper to reject an ad that simply encourages talking to your kids about sex based on the rationale that it might offend people shows just how inflammatory this issue has gotten. What’s worse, it throws into sharp relief just how much work we still have ahead of us.

Again USA Today has the right to approve/ reject anything they want. But if it’s a matter of offending their readership, in my humble opinion there are a thousand things more offensive than having an honest conversation with your kids about sex.

On one level, I’m embarrassed to say that I was not surprised that the issue might offend some parents, particularly those who believe that the only people who should be talking with their kids about sex are themselves. I suspect that the reminder that, because it’s not a subject that is taught in schools, they need to talk with their kids about sex and contraception (even if their views are that pre-marital sex or contraception don’t fall in line with the medical research data on the topic). My suspicion is that part of the reason that parents don’t want sex ed to be taught in schools is that it might prompt their kids to start a discussion.

However, that being said, it’s not that I suspect that it’s the talking part that bothers some parents; I suspect that what bothers them is thinking about the path that their child may choose to take. I will also point out that, like the National Campaign blogger, I believe that the newspaper has the right to choose which ads they run, along with the reality that the newspaper in question has run a number of stories that I have not agreed with in the past and, as a result, I don’t read their paper.

We all need to be able to make our own decision and we all need to be able to speak freely. However, with that responsibility comes the knowledge that both sides deserve to be heard. Parents who want their kids to abstain still should make an effort to know that their kids will be safe when they make their choice. However uncomfortable it may be, talking with teens about sex and pregnancy has to be more comfortable that watching your child suffer the consequences of not having all the facts.