Teen Pregnancies In Bexar County Nearly Twice U.S. Average
POSTED: 8:18 pm CDT May 31,
2005
UPDATED: 8:35 am CDT June 1,
2005
SAN ANTONIO -- The University of Texas Health Science Center is launching a billboard campaign to encourage teens to abstain from having sexual intercourse.
Teen pregnancies in Bexar County are nearly twice the national average. In 2003, a dozen 13-year-olds, more than 50 14-year-olds and more than 200 15-year-olds gave birth.
Some of the 15-year-olds had their second and even third babies.That's why the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and several other agencies have teamed up for the Worth The Wait ad campaign.Six billboards -- three in English and three in Spanish -- will be displayed around town, encouraging teens to wait before they have sex."What we're doing is taking these billboards out and really trying to engage the parents as well as the teens, because it's known that teens really listen to their parents and parents are the most influential factor," Dr. Kristen Plastino, of the UTHSC.Along with the billboards, programs will be implemented in area school districts targeting students in grades 6 through 9.Organizers hope the Worth The Wait program proves to be worthwhile.
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