In Reply: Encouraging Teens to Use Norplant Is Bad Advice

We agree with Dr Griffin that abstinence is the only fail-safe method of contraception that prevents both sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies. However, adolescents who are denied access to contraception do not necessarily abstain from having sexual intercourse. Seventy-five percent of today's female adolescents are sexually active by age 19. More than 800 000 of these teenagers experience unplanned pregnancies each year, largely due to poor access to or inconsistent use of contraceptives. One of our responsibilities as adolescent health care providers is to facilitate responsible sexual behavior by promoting abstinence among those adolescents willing to wait until marriage.