Planned Parenthood urges STD testing

Planned Parenthood launched a sexually transmitted disease awareness campaign Tuesday to encourage testing among teens and young adults.

"Most people would be shocked to hear that, by age 25, one in two sexually active young people will have an STD," said Janet Stevens, the Charleston health center manager. "This is not just a statistic. It's the reality that Planned Parenthood health centers face every day."

South Carolina ranks third nationally for cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia, and 12th for syphilis.

The "Get Yourself Tested" campaign is a nationwide effort with MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation to increase testing and treatment for those under age 25.

Planned Parenthood, which opened in December on Rutledge Avenue, is offering free gonorrhea and chlamydia testing for high school students in April. The clinic, which offers a range of affordable testing, contraceptive and counseling services, has no immediate plans to offer abortion services.

"We have seen really alarming rates of STDs in the county," Stevens said. In the first nine months of 2008, there were 3,128 new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in Charleston County, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

"Often gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV have no symptoms," Stevens said.

Kaytlin Bailey, a College of Charleston senior, spoke out about misinformation and stigma surrounding sexual health at the campaign launch. "I was told by my health educator in high school that condoms are full of holes, and that cervical cancer is caused by having too many sexual partners," Bailey said. "My peers are afraid of getting tested because they are afraid of being dirty."

Alexandria Russell, with the youth council of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said gonorrhea is 19 times higher among black teens than their white counterparts.

"We need to remove the stigma around testing," she said.