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Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself.
The Christian Civic League beat the MCLU in the Maine State Senate last week and again yesterday. Senators caved into demands from a vocal minority placing politics above adolescent health.
The Maine State Senate voted not once, but twice, in favor of a joint order sponsored by Senator Doug Smith in support of legislation to prohibit the distribution of prescription medications, like birth control, to teens without parental consent.
Fortunately, for those who care about health and protecting the right for everyone to have a full range of reproductive choice options, the Maine State House defeated the same resolution twice.
Please call to THANK the Senators and Representatives who did the right thing by placing teen health first. Click here to see how your Senator and Representative scored.
Maine House of Representatives: (800) 423-2900
Maine State Senate: (800) 423-6900
Please call to REGISTER YOUR DISAPPOINTMENT with Senators and Representatives who did the wrong thing by placing politics of fear over prevention of adolescent pregnancy. Click here to see how your Senator and Representative scored.
Maine House of Representatives: (800) 423-2900
Maine State Senate: (800) 423-6900
Maine leads the nation when it comes to preventing teen pregnancy. Maine went from having one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the nation thirty years ago to now having the fourth lowest rate for teens under the age of 18 and the lowest rate for adolescents under the age of 14. Notably, two of the states that have the strictest limits on access to contraception and comprehensive sexuality education have two of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the country - Texas and Florida.** Maine shouldn't take a step backward in the prevention of adolescent pregnancy.
The fact is some of Maine's youth are sexually active, as evidenced by the 11 reported pregnancies of children under 15 across Maine in 2005 alone.* A sexually active adolescent who does not use contraceptives has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within a year.* Of course, ideally young people should be talking to their parents about sexual activity and contraception, but unfortunately, not all students have a parent at home with whom they can talk about these complicated issues. The Maine State Senate failed to represent the interests of this small but vulnerable population.
* http://www.teenpregnancy.org/america/statisticsDisplay.asp?ID=4&sID=30
* http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf
Thanks for all that you do,
Alex, Brianna, Ed, Marian, Shenna, Zach
Action Center
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