The Signal Hill

Signal Hill is an advocate for human rights that provides information on life issues, women's health and family support.

The Signal Hill The Signal Hill

" [Psychiatrists] ask about childhood abuse, but not last week's hookups. We want to know how many cigarettes and coffees she has each day, but not how many abortions are in her past."

~ Dr. Miriam Grossman, from her book "Unprotected" ~

Healthy Sexuality

The Signal Hill When our Director of Education and Outreach goes into university and high school classrooms, she asks students which age group is likely to have the most abortions. Almost unanimously, the response is "teenagers." It is an interesting misconception, because statistics show year after year that over half (53.1%) of abortions are performed on women between 20 and 29 years of age.

A casual condoning of the "hook-up" culture is at least one of the major contributors to Canada’s high abortion rate, and our high rate of repeat abortions which has stood at about half (48.4%) of all abortions taking place annually for years. It is a fact that in Canada, one in three women will have had at least one abortion in her lifetime; 83% of those women will be unmarried at the time. (1)

Cultural ideas and notions about sexuality have consequences and are most keenly internalized by our youth. In 2004, there were 31,611 reported teenage pregnancies in Canada, half of which resulted in live-births. (2) In 1997 that number was 40,957 with an estimated 19,724 women aged 15 to 19 giving birth, and a slightly larger number in this age range—21,233—having an abortion. (3)

In 2007, campus psychiatrist Dr. Miriam Grossman published her book anonymously for fear of repercussions from an entrenched politically correct establishment. Unprotected went on to become a widely acclaimed book that exposes the prevailing laissezfaire atmosphere towards sexuality on university campuses. She writes, "We ask about childhood abuse, but not last week's hookups. We want to know how many cigarettes and coffees she has each day, but not how many abortions are in her past. We consider the stress caused by parental expectations and rising tuition, but neglect the anguish of herpes, the hazards of promiscuity, and the looming fertility issues for women who always put career first. We strive to combat suicide, but shun discussion of [ultimate meaning] and purpose in life."

This section will explore many important aspects of human sexuality. Using the most recent findings from medical journals and institutions such as Health Canada and the The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, we hope to present important and accurate information on an issue that is either confounded by misinformation or trivialized and ignored.

 

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