Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council, Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council (HWFAC) began in the fall of 1996 to research PPH claims and services provided. Regarding their claim to be lowering pregnancies , 15-19 yr. old rates had actually increased by 23.1% from 1987-1995. 1997 data (latest available) now show this rate to be 51.3 /1000 which is 25% higher than the 1987 low of 41.1 / 1000. In actual numbers that resulted in 754 teen pregnancies for 1997, 150 more than if the 1987 rate had still applied.
HWFAC has invested and continues to invest many volunteer hours monitoring PPH, Public Health and the Public School Board in attempt to display the foolishness and dismal failure of the condom-based, guilt-free, safe-sex approach. Many inroads are being made. Some of these inroads being dramatically improved (but not HWFAC approved) sex-ed curriculum, Health clinics which actually promote some good health, a chastity based "I'm Worth the Wait" campaign paid for by Public Health dollars and aldermen who are now truly understanding that providing contraceptives increases sexual activity. It is the past 5 years of efforts that has also led to the following declines in PPH.
Year Funding Hours\Week In-Clinic In-Clinic Pregnancy Positive Dollars of Clinic Client Contacts Client Contacts Tests Pregnancy Services (Total) (under 19) Performed Tests 1995 359,000 39 12,269 5,650 578 198 1996 359,000 39 11,403 5,043 589 228 Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council Intervenes 1997 359,000 39 11,172 3,776 420 162 1998 359,000 39 6,234 2,494 219 96 1999 185,000 15 3,391 1,888 113 43 2000 165,000 12 3,237 1,915 108 44 From the above table the following trends can be observed from 1996 thru 2000: Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . decreased by 54.0% Hours\week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . decreased by 69.3% In-Clinic Client Contacts (Total) . . decreased by 71.6% In-Clinic Client Contacts (Under 19). decreased by 62.0% Pregnancy Tests Performed . . . . . . decreased by 81.7% Positive Tests . . . . . . . . . . . decreased by 80.7%
The table above shows tremendous downward trends in services provided by PPH in 2000 and this is of course positive news. Equally encouraging is that while PPH performed only 108 pregnancy tests in 2000, Birthright performed 249. Birthright is now accessed for pregnancy tests 2.3 times more often than PPH!! This reinforces the importance of the pro-life community increasing support for Birthright. In our next issue we hope to report on trends in Public Health and a disturbing picture with regard to abortion referrals.
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