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Does free birth control encourage teen sex?

Your recent article and subsequent editorial on the decrease in teen pregnancies brought a few questions to mind ("Teen pregnancies in Baltimore drop by a third," Feb. 24).

Are adults inadvertently encouraging teens to have sex by supplying them with contraceptives? Are teenage girls being adequately informed of the risks as well as the benefits of the various types of birth control? And are students encouraged to bring a parent or guardian with them to the school health center or neighborhood clinic?

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I wonder whether making contraceptives widely available makes it harder for teens to say "no" to sex. Is the rate of sexually transmitted diseases also going down?

Pregnancy is only one possible consequence of sex between teenagers. Our society should be concerned about the other social and health consequences as well.

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Anne McKnew

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