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Destiny Gettis was a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of South Carolina when she found out she was pregant with her now one-year-old, Sophie.<\/p>\n
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The teenage birth rate is on the decline in South Carolina,<\/strong> a state that teaches abstinence in schools as the best and first option for student contraception. But this decline seems to be due to various unconventional channels of sexual education rather than to the state\u2019s sexual education curricula.<\/p>\n \u201cI was educated in South Carolina public schools and when I was in eighth grade we had sexual education,\u201d Destiny Gettis, a young single mother and 21-year-old senior journalism student at the University of South Carolina, said. \u201cWe talked heavily about abstinence. We did learn some about how condoms work and about birth control, but it was only to do with marriage and family planning in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Gettis was 19 when she found out she was pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter, Sophie Gettis, five days before her junior year of college began. Now, her day-to-day routine includes not only senior year college courses and an internship that she commutes to in Charlotte, N.C., but also supporting and spending time with her one-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n \u201cSophie is the best thing that ever happened to me,\u201d Gettis said. \u201cI did call Planned Parenthood when I found out I was pregnant and they could barely understand me because I was just sobbing.<\/p>\n “I was worried that if I had my child I wouldn\u2019t be able to do what I wanted to do with my life and still provide for her,” she said. Being a single mom and being in school, sometimes people joke about it or you feel ashamed or wonder how you will do it. It is mentally, emotionally and financially a lot, but it is very much possible.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2017, there were 3,406 teen mothers statewide who found themselves in a similar position to Gettis. South Carolina now ranks 16th out of 50 states plus Washington D.C. for teen birth rates, a 70 percent drop since 1991, when teen births reached their peak in the state.<\/p>\n From 2016 to 2017 alone, there was a nine percent decrease in teen births statewide. Experts note that the decline isn’t due to an increase in the abortion rate. In 1991,\u00a0 14,112 abortions were performed on state residents; in 2018, that figure fell to <\/span>10,716.<\/p>\n The Comprehensive Health Education Act (CHEA) is South Carolina\u2019s primary law for establishing guidelines for public school sexual education. It was enacted in 1988 and has remained unchanged since that year. According to this law, individual school boards must submit their sexual education programs to be approved by the state.<\/p>\n In order for a program to be approved, it must teach abstinence as the best contraception method, teach other contraception methods only in the context of future, marriage-based family-planning, avoid teaching on any sexual practices that occur outside of marriage or that are unrelated to reproduction and avoid discussion on sexual behaviors other than heterosexuality in classrooms.<\/p>\n \u201cDHEC receives federal and state funding for an Abstinence Education Program as well as a Personal Responsibility Education Program,\u201d DHEC Public Information Officer Laura Renwick said in an email. \u201cThe Abstinence Education Program provides information and resources about abstinence and positive youth development while the Personal Responsibility Education Program provides information and resources about abstinence, contraception and healthy relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n These programs are taught nearly identically in 2018 public schools as they were in schools when the teen birth rate peaked in 1991, prompting the question of whether or not other factors than public school sexual education are involved in the teen birth rate decline.<\/p>\n Some suggest the safety of long term birth control methods such as Nexplanon and IUD\u2019s for adolescent girls as well as the easy access that teens have to sexual information through the Internet has given teenagers more information on ways to avoid getting pregnant.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat accounts for this decrease? I think it\u2019s a myriad of things,\u201d Doug Taylor, the director of community programs for the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said. \u201cPeople just have more access to information now. There\u2019s a delay in sexual activity in young teens and teens that do decide to be sexually active are doing a better job of getting on a birth control method. More teens are using contraception methods that are more effective and longer lasting.\u201d<\/p>\n The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is an organization that collects data on teen pregnancy in South Carolina yearly. The group provides resources for school sexual education programs as well as programs in community centers and other locations. Its educational information deals mainly with teen pregnancy, but also extends into other areas including sexually transmitted infections (STI\u2019s) and LGBTQ health resources.<\/p>\n The campaign recognizes some areas of education that are not provided for in the CHEA, and teaches abstinence as an effective contraception method, but only until a person decides to become sexually active rather than until marriage. However, there is only so much additional information the campaign can provide to teens while staying within the guidelines of the CHEA.<\/p>\n Organizations like Planned Parenthood operate outside of the CHEA, allowing them to offer education on contraception and also on abortion. Their organization does teach abstinence, but as one of many methods of contraception rather than as the single most effective form.<\/p>\n \u201cAbstinence and skill building around saying no to sex are important parts of any good sex education program, but they\u2019re not the only parts,\u201d Christi Hutchinson, community educator for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic in Columbia, said. \u201cAlmost no abstinence-only until marriage program has been shown to have any impact on young people\u2019s behavior. Even more importantly, withholding critical, possibly life-saving information about STIs and HIV puts young people\u2019s health and future at risk.”<\/p>\n While Planned Parenthood and the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy see room for improvement in the CHEA, opening up the act for revisions could clear a path for more restrictive sexual education. With changes to the act unlikely, teens are left with the often-inadequate CHEA-approved information provided by their schools. Many of these teens are often unaware of educational resources like Planned Parenthood and the campaign as well.<\/p>\n In addition to schools and community organizations, students learn about sex from the Internet, their peers and, most importantly, their parents. Americans have a complicated relationship with sexuality, especially in the South, where religion often interferes with sexual education. Many parents are reticent to discuss sexuality with their children, but the role that parents play in their children\u2019s sexual education is a critical one.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of our religious traditions and backgrounds, American culture has a bit of a schizophrenic relationship with sexuality,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe all, including children, are immersed in sexuality in our media culture and yet we can\u2019t talk about it in an effective way. Parents who have quality conversations with their children as they\u2019re growing up on love, sex and relationships have children who will delay initiation of sex. Then when they do engage in sexual activity, they\u2019re more than likely to use contraception.\u201d<\/p>\n As a young parent, Gettis is already thinking about how she will educate her daughter when the time comes. She knows that some of her child\u2019s sexual education will come from her school, and hopes for future improvements to the state\u2019s sexual education curricula. She plans on supplementing whatever she learns in the classroom by presenting all methods of contraception to her.<\/p>\n \u201cI want Sophie to learn about abstinence but I don\u2019t want her to see that as her only option,\u201d Gettis said. \u201cTeenagers are so curious and I think only teaching abstinence isn\u2019t really doing anything for them. It only makes teens more curious to learn about what happens when they don\u2019t practice abstinence. I\u2019m going to teach my child all measures of contraception, way more than solely practicing abstinence like what is taught in most of South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SexEd_PW2_RP.jpg”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Doug Taylor, director of community programs and evaluation at the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, is part of a group that works to lower the teen pregnancy rate in the state by informing students of various forms of birth control.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SexEd_PW3_RP.jpg”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Destiny Gettis said that she hopes in the future her daughter Sophie, above, will have better sexual education in school, learning how to best avoid a teenage or unplanned pregnancy.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SexEd_PW4_RP-1.jpg”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n The S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy informs teens about topics other than contraception like sexually transmitted infections, vaccines, personal trauma and LGBTQ lifestyles.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.15″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SexEd_PW5_RP.jpg”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 4″ _builder_version=”3.15″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Destiny Gettis, 21, hires a babysitter to keep her daughter Sophie during the day while she attends class, completes an internship and works.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.15″ src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SexEd_G1_RP.png” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The South Carolina teen pregnancy rate is continuing to decrease yearly, but this decrease seems to be caused by forms of sexual education other than public school curriculum, such as Internet access, community education by organizations like Planned Parenthood and parental influence. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":13564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67,42,71],"tags":[277,280,276,279,281,278,275],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13560"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15781,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560\/revisions\/15781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}