What if I told you there was a birth control out there that was 99% effective, didn't require daily maintenance, and wouldn't have the hormonal side effects that you're used to in the Pill?  Yeah.  I'd laugh in my face, too.  Because if such a magical thing existed, we'd be all beating a path to the doctor for a prescription, right?

Wrong.

Meet the IUD (intrauterine device), the simple to use, long-lasting, reversible, hormone-free, economical birth control that's only used by about 2% of American women, despite huge popularity with our European cousins. 

So why are American women missing the boat on this?

As I sat and listened to several Central Valley, CA, Latino teens tell me about their future ambitions and life dreams, I was struck by how determined to succeed these kids were. Despite living in communities threatened by drug and gang activity, low income and high unemployment levels, each was looking forward to graduating from high school, attending college and having a promising career. It was also clear that each teen was well aware of the fact that becoming a parent at an early age would make achieving their aspirations much more difficult. This anecdotal information precisely mirrors findings published in the National Campaign's recently released report Toward a Common Future.

Yet, according to what these teens shared with me, school year after school year they witness many of their friends and classmates giving up or postponing their efforts to reach their goals as a result of an unintended pregnancy. Given the unique challenges Latino teens face, many of which contribute to the high rates of teen pregnancy in their communities, Latino teens in particular can use adult guidance in order to identify and navigate past the numerous issues they'll more than likely have to address as they grow older.

Community colleges are known to some as the red-headed step-child of higher education. NBC is even playing the association to its advantage with its new series coming this fall, Community. But the fact is that community colleges have played a critical role in the U.S., serving 11.5 million students and almost half of all undergrads across the country.

Although community colleges are seeing an increase in student enrollment, that doesn't necessarily mean there's an increase in the graduation rate. As David Brooks notes in his recent op-ed, No Size Fits All, about half of community college students fail to earn a degree. Recognizing the important role that student services play in students' success, last week President Obama announced the American Graduation Initiative, which gives schools the funding they need to offer their students "wrap-around services."

To the extent that the National Campaign has a tag line it is this lovely bon mot: "Responsible Behavior. Responsible Policies." That is, if we are to make true and lasting progress in reducing teen and unplanned pregnancy it will take a heaping helping of both responsible behavior on the part of individuals and responsible policies in both the public and private sectors.

The emphasis today is on the former. The role of personal responsibility in pregnancy planning and prevention is examined in some detail in a new book out today, Rethinking Responsibility: Reflections on Sex and Accountability. Released by The National Campaign, the volume includes 29 essays written by leaders in their respective fields. Contributors include:

• Leading media voices, such as syndicated columnist E.J. Dionne, radio talk show host Tom Joyner, and Will Saletan, National Correspondent, Slate.

• Leaders of national organizations, such as Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of LaRaza, and Roland Warren, President of the National Fatherhood Initiative.

• Religious leaders and thinkers such as Jim Wallis, President and CEO of Sojourners, Rev. Samuel Rodriquez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Fred Riley, Commissioner, LDS Family Services, Rev. Sterling Lands, Senior Pastor, Greater Calvary Baptist Church in Austin, TX, and Rev. Debra Haffner, Co-Founder and Executive Director, the Religious Institute.

• Individuals who have worked with or written extensively on teens and young adults, such as Michael Carrera, Director, The Children's Aid Society Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, Elayne Bennett, President and Founder, Best Friends Foundation, Laura Sessions Stepp, Senior Media Fellow at The National Campaign, and Kay Hymowitz, the Manhattan Institute.

• Twenty-somethings, such as author Amber Madison and Cassandra Debenedetto, Founder, Anscobe Society, Princeton University.

We do hope that--in some modest way--these essays will be both thought-provoking and will help foster a national discussions about what personal responsibility means vis-a-vis pregnancy planning and family formation.

We also hope that you will take the opportunity to tell us what you think about the essays--don't worry, there's something in there for everyone to hate--or to simply tell us what you think about personal responsibility. Don't be shy, we really do want to hear from you.

Cross-posted from RH Reality Check's On Common Ground section.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is excited to join with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and the National Foster Care Coalition in a partnership to focus on reducing the disproportionately high teen pregnancy rate among youth in and aging out of foster care. Since 2005, this population has been a major focus of the Campaign's work, both because this is a group of young people with high rates, and because it's an area where more attention and research is needed to make progress and improve child well-being.

As a first step, our newly formed working group sponsored a briefing on Thursday entitled, "Preventing Teen Pregnancy and Promoting Health Relationships among Youth in Foster Care." Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) was part of the Congressional Roundtable Discussion at which the announcement of the new working group was made. She pointed out that the government has a special obligation to take care of the children in its custody, and given some of the reproductive health outcomes of this group, we all could be doing a better job of making sure this happens.