Sue Johanson, the 78-year-old sex educator who (sadly) retired last May from her Oxygen television show, "Talk Sex with Sue Johanson," was interviewed this week on NPR's Wisdom Watch, where they ask respected elders to help guide us through today's challenging issues. In addition to noting that some of her assets as a sex educator are being "long in the tooth" and not having "bodacious ta ta's," she also said the following when asked her opinion about abstinence-only education:

Every, single sex educator does emphasize abstinence: 'Please do not have sex.' Now I will never say, 'not until you are married.' I will say, 'Please do not have sex until you know what you're doing, you like your own body, you can think ahead, plan ahead, get a good method of birth control, never let sex just happen, and be able to talk about it with your partner. That's the stumbling block right there. To be able to say to your partner, 'Are we gonna do it? 'Cause if we are, we're gonna use condoms, right? This is not a choice. No condom, no sex. That's it. Game over. Forget it.'

Exactly. It's all so much better in Sue's voice, though, so head over to NPR and give the whole interview a listen.

So, let's see if I have this right: teen pregnancy is okay—"beautiful," in fact—as long as no abortion occurs and as long as there is a shotgun marriage. In addition, becoming a parent at 17 or 18 is preferable to a bit of accurate sex education and preferable to using birth control.

A full seven years ago, E.J. Dionne wrote, "It's better for unmarried teens to avoid premature sex than to use contraception, but it's better to use contraception than to get pregnant." I guess the revision we are asked to swallow is, "It's better to get married as a teen than to use contraception," even though 60% of teen marriages fail, and 80% do when the bride is pregnant.

The Russell Brand/Jonas Brothers/Jordin Sparks dust-up sure is delicious, huh?  For those without a scorecard, the drama has unfolded something like this:

• Russell Brand hosted MTV's Video Music Awards last Sunday. (As an aside, am I the only person in the United States who has no idea who Russell Brand is?  I thought it was athletic wear.)  
• Brand saw fit to use his MTV bully pulpit to make fun of The Jonas Brothers—the tween heart-throb band de jour—and their rather public commitment to abstinence.  Among other pearls of wisdom, Brand said about the Jonas Brothers purity rings "I'd take them more seriously if they wore it around their genitals."
• American Idol winner Jordin Sparks also appeared on the VMA show and fired back at bad boy Brand:  "I just have one thing to say about promise rings.  It's not bad to wear a promise ring, because not everybody—guy or girls—wants to be a slut."
• Later in the show (aren't you sorry you missed it?) Brand apologized—kinda, sorta:  "I love the Jonas Brothers, I think it's (purity) really good.  I don't want to piss off teenage fans...Promise rings, I'm well up for it, well done everyone...It's just, a bit of sex occasionally never hurt anybody."

Ironically, one could reasonably view this as Hollywood's version of this nation's ongoing and tiresome debate about abstinence and contraception.  Too many continue to pit these two approaches as competing strategies when, of course, they are complimentary strategies. 

Friends, virgin and slut are false dichotomies. Russell Brand and Jordin Sparks; a pox on both your houses.

Unless you've been living on Mars, you know that teen pregnancy has been much in the news lately. The high profile teen pregnancies--from Bristol Palin to Jamie Lynn Spears to a group of high school students in Gloucester, Mass--remind us all that teen pregnancy can happen anywhere and to anyone. It does: a stunning 29% of all girls in this country get pregnant at least once before they turn 20.

Even more stunning: if you are a Latino or African-American teen, you're more likely than not to experience a teen pregnancy--53% of Latina teens get pregnant at least once before they turn 20.  The figure is 51% for African Americans.  Native American teens also have higher than average birth rates (teen pregnancy data are not available).

As our nation approaches its annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, this is a perfect time to remember that Latino communities, and other communities of color, need additional support to address this pressing problem. Early pregnancy is tied directly to poverty and education--two issues of deep concern among Latino leaders, families, faith leaders, and yes--even community organizers. Over two-thirds (69%) of Latina teen moms drop out of high school.

The Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act (H.R. 468/S. 1790) currently pending in Congress would invest much-needed funds to help better understand these disparities and provide communities with the highest rates of teen pregnancy with new resources to address the problem.

Read more about racial and ethnic disparities in teen pregnancy.

Look at state-by-state teen birth rates in your state.

Learn more about the connection between teen pregnancy and education among Latino teens.

Bristol Palin is bringing out the best in people. They're tripping over themselves to offer support and even congratulations. Such an outpouring of empathy! Of caring! No doubt neither she nor her family would have asked to be in this situation. But they're in it, and the American people stand beside them in solidarity.

But after more than a decade of working to reduce teen pregnancy in the U.S. (a decade that saw a sharp decline in teen pregnancy and birth rates, by the way) one thing still surprises me: how is it possible that people still think that when you--gasp--dare to say that teen pregnancy is not OK, you are automatically condemning all teen mothers?

Most of the teen moms and dads I've met say some version of the same thing. They love their children deeply, but they wish they could have had that exact same child a little later in life, when they felt more adult and ready and able give their child their best. Eight in ten teen pregnancies are unplanned. Don't look at me. I didn't make that up. The teens themselves reported it.