PLATFORM : Try Abstinence

The opening of yet another day care center at Laurel High School in Los Alamitos is not the best answer for our young people. There are several excellent abstinence programs available to districts that follow the requirements of the state Education Code. They have shown outstanding results when taught correctly. Teen Aid in San Marcos, for example, reduced teen pregnancy by 80% in the first year it was implemented. Right here in Orange County, Choices, a program from Teen Awareness Inc., has been doing an excellent job. These programs prepare teen-agers for a future without the premature responsibilities of a pregnancy.

Is there any district in Orange or Los Angeles counties brave enough to really try a new method? True abstinence programs have shown they can stop this flight toward dead ends--abortion, single motherhood and the increased probability of getting AIDS and an early death. Can’t we give our youth a chance at life and a future with real hopes, dreams and challenges?