New CA program offers teens free mail-order condoms

Hats off to TeenSource.org for launching a new program supported by the California Department of Health that will allow teens  in various parts of the state to order free condoms online. Individuals age 12-19 in Alameda, Sacramento, Kern, San Joaquin and parts of San Francisco counties can sign up on the TeenSource site to receive a package of condoms, lubricant and an educational pamphlet delivered in a discreet yellow envelope.

The Bakersfield Californian reports that the effort marks an attempt to tackle “alarmingly high” rates of STDs and teen pregnancies in certain regions. Amy Voy, the VP of Public Affairs for the Family Health Council which co-sponsors the new program, says ”We can’t keep our heads in the sand and pretend there isn’t a problem. We know teens are engaging and we want to make sure they’re as safe as possible.”

Parents and abstinence groups are of course up in arms about the new initiative; many naive conservatives have argued for years that it’s these kinds of sex education resources that “give teenagers ideas.” However, as HuffPost points out:

Repeated studies have suggested that providing teenagers with access to birth control and comprehensive sex education does not encourage the population to have intercourse. On the other hand, “no abstinence-only program has yet been proven through rigorous evaluation to help youth delay sex for a significant period of time, help youth decrease their number of sex partners, or reduce STI or pregnancy rates among teens,” a report published by Advocates For Youth in 2009 read.

San Francisco county, meanwhile, has some of the lowest instances of teen pregnancy in the state, with 2,387 cases in 2011 as compared with Kern’s 13,861.

TeenSource.org was developed by the California Family Health Council and launched in July 2001