Letter: Life, death and truth

This is in response to the letter which attempts to berate and demean the humanitarian role Planned Parenthood plays in our community.

I recently accompanied staff members of Planned Parenthood to Tallahassee to lobby our legislators to support bills which would prevent unintended pregnancies. Florida has the sixth-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country, averaging 50,000 teen pregnancies each year. AIDS-related diseases are the ninth leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds in Florida.

Beneath these devastating statistics are human dramas filled with despair, disgrace and hopelessness. That is why 85 percent of parents say that in addition to abstinence, age-appropriate sex education should be taught in the schools so young people can develop responsible decision-making skills and recognize the emotional consequences of sexual activity.

This is substantiated by recent studies which show that sexually knowledgeable young people are more apt to abstain than those who are denied truth.

Arlyne Goodwin/Naples