Just the Facts

A high school girl: "I intend to be President." A young woman: "I intend to go back to school." And a pregnant woman: "I intended to have a family ... but not this soon." Says an announcer: "Unintended pregnancies have risks. Greater risks than any of today's contraceptives. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wants you to have the facts. For your free booklet call 1-800-INTENDS."

All three of the major networks rejected this public service TV announcement as too controversial. The booklet that is offered, The Facts, tells young people, "It's okay to say 'no,' " but that if they do have sex, then the pill and condom are the safest birth control methods. Network officials steer away from the topic of contraceptives, even in paid advertisements. Says George Schweitzer, a CBS vice president: "The proper forum for the discussion is in news and public affairs programs where there is a balanced format to present both sides."

Observers question that stance, pointing out that the U.S. leads industrialized countries with an estimated 1.1 million pregnancies each year for girls ages 15 to 19. Public health officials in Tennessee and Georgia want stations to run the spot, but few outlets other than the Cable News Network have agreed to give it time. The networks' position is questionable, critics argue, because daytime soaps and prime-time series like Dynasty routinely glamourize sex without suggesting its risks. Says Jeanne Rosoff, president of the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research center: "Network program content is explicit to the point where one ABC-TV executive was quoted as saying, 'We are reaching the point of physical motion under the covers of a bed.' I can't see how the word contraceptive is going to shock anybody."