South Carolina’s reproductive policies have an especially large impact on minority women. The discrepancies between African American and Latina women’s health, compared to White women, are growing. This pattern has a direct effect on the overall well being of women in South Carolina.
Teen pregnancy rates are higher among minority women in South Carolina compared than White young women. Teenage pregnancy rates have increased continuously from 1997 to 2007 among African Americans. South Carolina ranks 27 out of 47 states for African American teen birth rates, and 44 out of 47 for Latina birth rates.
These same racial disparities exist in terms of Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV rates. Latina teens account for 15% of newly diagnosed HIV cases among women, while African Americans made up 61% in 2007. Latina teens make up 18% of youth ages 13-19, but account for 19% of AIDS cases in South Carolina? Or US?. At the same time, female African American teens are 68% of AIDS cases while only accounting for 15% of teens in the US.
These are just a few of the sobering statistics that demonstrate the work that needs to be done to ensure that preventive health care is available and access to all South Carolinians, regardless of age, race or ethnicity. Voters must demand health policies that meet the real needs of our residents.
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Tags: Columbia, Deborah Billings, Latina, Minority Health, Sexual Health, TTWomen
This graph gives such a clear picture that we are NOT headed in the right direction. Thank you Debbie for sharing this with us so frankly. It is time we faced the facts: our young people need help. They need to learn about abstinence, condoms, and birth control. To help us change this please join the March by registering at http://www.tellthemsc.org. Thanks!
If for no other reason than keeping health care costs down, prevention has to be a significant part of health reform. Without prevention efforts, the available health care dollars are ultimately spent on the much more costly efforts of treatment. With health care costs already spiraling out of control, not investing in prevention is indeed very foolish.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this key issue, Debbie. Your words are compounded by the new Kaiser Family Foundation reports that were released today. Clearly change has to happen soon.
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/downloads/womens-health-disparities/SC.pdf
Thanks Deborah. Prevention should be the primary focus of good health policy. If we can prevent the illness then we wouldn’t have to treat the illness.
How do we reach out to these minorities? America is such a melting pot these days but the thing we pride ourselves in the most is just a facade. There is still racial lingerings in the south as well as in the United States and it stinks to think that we are forgetting that we need to educate EVERYONE!
I agree Debbie! ALL women deserve access to preventative health care!