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A call for sex education in Indiana E-mail
A mother at the age of only 17 is now 20 years old and has been charged with the murder of her 3-year-old daughter, TaJanay Bailey. Teen pregnancy is definitely an issue which has all the more been highlighted because of this tragic incident. Thankfully, the majority of teenage pregnancy cases do not end up this way but still the statistics do tell us that most of these children born from teen moms may end up becoming teen moms themselves or live in poverty.

The president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, Betty Cockrum, chose to speak out because of these sad realities. She, too, has been aware of the news regarding TaJanay, the Phoenix Apartments, and the Northeastside complex where single teen moms live. This complex is also where TaJanay suffered her fate.

Cockrum recommends that the state should progress further with its child welfare system.

"But let's finally start at the beginning. We need comprehensive sex education in Indiana. Ideally that happens with parents. But we can't assume that is happening," she said.

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Using a rather long list of teen pregnancy statistics which clearly showed how early pregnancy can be a definite danger, Cockrum further emphasized the importance of proper sex education for the adolescents. "It seems a moral imperative that people grasp the importance of planning birth." Comparing this issue to a top political issue of the state she commented: "Let's decide this is at least as important as property taxes."

Cockrum is not the only one with an opinion.

The Republican head of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, Mitch Roob, commented that figuring out which teen girls are most prone to having children before they graduate high school can be done. Surveys which can find out which teen girls have mothers who gave birth to these girls as a teen themselves is the answer.

Even if this is simple, Roob said “We don't identify those children in school. We don't counsel them differently. We don't have teachers keep an eye out for them and make sure they first, before other students, get into mentoring programs."

Roob further says that efforts to do these things would bring out controversy. Yet, these teen girls and their interaction with other teen boys still needs to be monitored.

Roob said, "They need to be told, 'He may make you feel very good for a time, but your life prospects, and the life prospects of your child, will not be as great as they would be if you waited to become a mother.' "
 
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