"The decline had been attributed to increasing access to education, information and contraceptive services. So I think it was a surprise after seeing that apparently those efforts had been working," said Dr. Avril Melissa Houston, medical director of the Baltimore Health Department's division of youth and families.
As the Republican Party adopted a platform this week calling for abstinence among unwed teenagers, Bristol's pregnancy has renewed debate over sex education. In a questionnaire she filled out before Alaska's 2006 gubernatorial election, Sarah Palin wrote that "explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support." But Pat Paluzzi, president of the Healthy Teen Network, argues that "if you deprive kids of information, this is what happens."
Doug Stiegler, executive director of the Association of Maryland Families, a nonprofit that promotes Christian values, says that argument is ludicrous. "One girl gets pregnant, so therefore abstinence education's no good and ought to be outlawed? There's no logic in that thinking," he said.
Maryland schools have the authority to teach students about birth control, although the programs vary by district.
"We deal with reality," said Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, Howard County's health officer and Baltimore's former health commissioner. "Sixty percent of high school students are sexually active by the time they graduate. It's irresponsible not to provide students who are underage with material that can help protect their health and their future."
In Washington County, officials have advocated "abstinence-plus education," a widely used approach to prevent teenage pregnancy and the spread of HIV. Abstinence is stressed as the most effective way to prevent teen pregnancy, but information regarding safe sex is made available to those who wish to be sexually active.
"National statistics say that three out of 10 girls get pregnant before age 20," said Melissa Nearchos, senior project coordinator of the Washington County Community Partnership for Children and Families. "It's a prevalent problem."
To Lewis, whose daughter is 9, the real surprise in the Palins' announcement was that Bristol will marry the father of her child, 18-year-old Levi Johnston. "I would hope it's a decision that wasn't forced upon her," she said.
"If I had chosen to marry my daughter's father, I would be in a totally different boat. I thank God every day I didn't do that," said Lewis, who later married someone else and works as a fundraiser for Healthy Teen Network.
