If nothing else, York County’s ‘Great American Sex Out’ drew wide attention to teen pregnancy problem
In this 2000 York Daily Record file photo, a Dover Area High School student demonstrates the Empathy Belly. The 37-pound unit is designed to simulate a pregnancy, a preventative method to educate about teen pregnancy used in area schools. Background posts: High school graduation, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Rising after a low start and York County quality-of-life groups seeking to regain magic cooperation of York Plan and Who will lead the York area in the future?.
Although York County’s teen birth stats are falling, York City’s figures have been at or near the top of Pennsylvania’s list for years.
In 2006, for example, about 22 percent of the city’s births were to teen mothers, top in the state, according to Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy figures.
This sobering topic came up again when YorkCounts addressed the topic in a recent report.
The teen birth situation got so bad in the early 1990s that the pregnancy prevention officials implemented a plan that added a smile to a serious problem.
It was called the Great York County Sex Out, and it attracted international attention… .
Media from Australia to England to Jay Leno discovered York County because of the event, the York Daily Record reported.
The Sex Out called for a day of countywide abstinence. And prevention officials included a discussion night, awards banquet and a health fair to highlight the problem.
The event lasted at least two years before it ran its course. Sponsors did not report a participation rate.
Local newspaper reporters found all kinds of responses from those asked if they would participate in the Sex Out.
The most creative “no” came from a man from Highspire in Dauphin County.
“We’re not from this county,” the man told the York Daily Record.
Other posts in this series:
– Farmland preservation, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Ag use outpacing population growth
– Further education plans, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Post-high-school prospects rising
– Teen motherhood, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Despite historic occurrence among Pennsylvania Dutch, rate is falling
– High school graduation, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Rising after a low start.
– Tobacco usage, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Rooted in York County’s past.
– Bias-related incidents, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: ‘A concern in York County’ .
