Statement on Teen Parents and Health Disparities
Letter to the Editor in Response to Rocky Mountain News article

Dear Editor:
Thank you for the correction (5/22/07) regarding the statement about Latino youth that was incorrectly attributed to Shannon Sainer, COAPPP’s (Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention) Program Manager, in the article by Bill Scanlon, “Teen Pregnancy Prevention Dilemma,” on May 21, 2007. While COAPPP appreciates the Rocky Mountain News addressing the topic of teen pregnancy, COAPPP wishes to make some clarification and provide insight on some of the perceptions that people may have about teen pregnancy and parenting.

COAPPP advocates for teens with and without children. Teens who are parents have a right to a promising future without discrimination or incrimination. Our society, for the most part, expects support in the rearing and education of children – the public should insist on nothing less for young parents who are trying to balance parenting and their own adolescence. Promoting effective pregnancy prevention and supporting the healthy development and success of parenting teens are not opposing values. Everyday we witness the resilience and hard work of teen parents. Their success is often due to the support of adults, families, and programs that provide them with quality child care, health care, and opportunities for education and employment. While some may consider these programs a consumption of public dollars, COAPPP and like-minded organizations consider this an investment in building strong families. These investments do, in the long term, result in healthier children and engaged parents.

“It is a gross generalization that Latino families condone or approve of teen pregnancy simply because they celebrate and help raise the children born to the teens around them,” says Hector Sánchez-Flores, Senior Researcher at the Center for Reproductive Health Policy Research, University California San Francisco School of Medicine. Sánchez-Flores often shares this sentiment with people who have the erroneous perception that teen pregnancy is encouraged in Latino communities.

There is insufficient up to date research to properly explain the disparities of births to Latina teens. A prominent researcher in reproductive health, Antonia Villarruel, PhD., (University of Michigan) has done an extensive investigation of existing research and concluded that future studies on reproductive and sexual health trends must make an effort to consider differences in acculturation, language, and geography, among other issues, to help us understand the disparity. Villarruel’s work highlights the importance of not drawing blanket conclusions about teen birth disparities without having a full view of what different Latino communities are facing. However, we do know that when youth are given full and comprehensive sexuality health education, access to affordable and quality family planning and reproductive health services, and opportunities to engage in conversations with their parents and adults in their lives, they make healthy and informed decisions about their reproductive health, parenting, and overall future. Integrating cultural competency principles into programs and services is a critical way to enhance the quality of services for Latino youth and families.

COAPPP supports the notion that part of society’s responsibility is to support the health and well-being of all youth and that no group is singled-out as a burden on society based on their disparity rates, lack of financial resources, or parenting status. Rather than pointing blame or assigning burden, COAPPP encourages the public to support policies and programs that empower all youth to take charge of their health and well-being.

Sincerely,
Lori Casillas
Executive Director
Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention