All I Have is Your Letter Read, and I Cannot Get it out of My Head

Sometimes I like to pretend that actually writing letters to my representatives on issues I care about works a little bit better than copying and pasting a Facebook status message. It's not even hard, as some organizations write out a draft for you that you can edit to your liking.

You can then go to http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/ to find those extra 4 digits of your zip code, which don't normally matter too much, but it sure is handy to have when you're looking up who your representatives are!

Once you've found those people, most of them have links to contact them via email. Which is what I've done here:

Dear Senator Feingold, Senator Kohl, Congresswoman Moore:

As a public health nurse and registered voter, I am asking that you co-sponsor the Healthy Youth Act (LRB 3380/2 and LRB 3489/1).

In 2008, nearly half of Wisconsin's high school students report that they are sexually active. Of those 45%, only 61% are using condoms. In 2009, an estimated 11,000 Wisconsin teens will become pregnant. Additionally, STD rates have increased by nearly 50% among teens over the past 10 years.

It is crucial, especially in this difficult financial time, that we focus on promoting health and prevention among our youth. Unplanned pregnancies and STDs not only effect the physical and emotional well-being of these people, they burden the economy as well.

In the year 2000, an estimated 9 million new cases of STDs among the 15-24-year-old population cost the American taxpayers approximately $6.5 billion. Every year, teen pregnancies cost the national economy around $9.1 billion, and the cost is even greater in the long run, when factoring in the cost of how unplanned pregnancies contribute to a growing poverty level. A child's chance of growing up in poverty is nine times greater if the mother gave birth as a teen, if the parents were unmarried when the child was born, and if the mother did not receive a high school diploma, than if none of these circumstances are present.

Today, in this world of information, it is still not uncommon to find teens who think jumping up and down after sex can prevent pregnancy, or that sexually transmitted diseases cannot be spread through oral sex. This is directly related to a lack of comprehensive sex education, and it's embarrassing that it is so difficult to prevent the spread of such misinformation. We need to start taking Wisconsin youth and their health seriously, for their sakes and for the economy's. The Healthy Youth Act will ensure that sex education taught in Wisconsin's public schools is medically accurate and comprehensive, including information about abstinence and contraceptives to prevent teen pregnancies and STDs.

Please co-sponsor the Healthy Youth Act and help give our teens the information and skills they need to make healthy decisions--now and throughout their lives.

Thank you.

If you care about a particular issue, don't be afraid to take action. Your representatives do actually read what you send them, and they actually care about what you think! Even if what you write is more than 140 characters.