Teen pregnancy rates in Latinas have sharply declined in the past five years, which may be been the result of the overwhelming Latino support for sexual education and birth control, NBC Latino reported.
According to a national poll of more than 1,000 Latinos over the age of 18, nine out of 10 Hispanics believe sex education should be taught at the high school and middle school level. Ninety percent said teen pregnancy prevention is just as important as getting good grades.
The report also found that more than half of those who responded viewed avoiding teen pregnancy as a more important issue for Latinos than other groups. About one-third of Latinos polled believed that Latino teens have less access to birth control and healthcare.
Planned Parenthood and the The NYU Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health commissioned the poll.
While progress has been made to raise awareness and reduce teen pregnancy in Latinas, 40 percent of Latinas will still become pregnant before age twenty, Leslie Kantor, Vice President of Education at Planned Parenthood said.
However, according to Eric Ferrero, Vice President of Communications at Planned Parenthood, the Affordable Care Act will be “transformative” in the way Latinos will have access to healthcare and birth control.
The report said nine million Hispanics will be able to access insurance after the ACA goes into effect.
(Photo by nateOne via Flickr)