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Local TV ads pitch no-sex message Amidst the sex-saturated shows on teen television channels, Jackson County young people this month will find local messages urging restraint. Starting this week, Planned Parenthood of Jackson County will air four 30-second ads aimed at encouraging abstinence without scaring kids. "A lot of abstinence education has been based on fear and shame," said Maggie Sullivan, education director for the local Planned Parenthood office. "We didn't want that. We want people to say, 'I won't have sex because it's a positive choice for me."' The black-and-white spots feature members of the Cabaret Teen Theater group performing scripts with a message: "Sex. I'm gonna wait for now." The commercials were developed with the help of local teens, who wanted them to feature an air of authenticity, said Cil Stengle, director of Planned Parenthood's teen theater program. The spots will appear several times daily on channels popular with young people, including Fox, WB and ABC, especially between reruns of "Friends" and "Seinfeld." "It's a way to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time," said Sullivan, whose office will spend $40,500 on air time in May, an amount matched by station officials. An $8,000 grant from the Asante Health System Foundation paid for development of the commercials. Two ads feature a group of girls who discuss why they plan to wait for sex. One spot features a boy who takes a stand for abstinence; another depicts a couple who can't discuss sex. "If you're not ready to talk about it, you're not ready for sex," a young voice concludes. The commercials are part of an ongoing local, state and national effort to prevent teen pregnancy. Recently, it appears to have paid off. State pregnancy rates dropped 9 percent between 1994 and 1998; Jackson County rates declined from 15.7 per 1,000 girls in 1994 to 13.7 per 1,000 in 1998. Preliminary 1999 figures appear to be even lower: 11.4 per 1,000 girls, Sullivan said. "We attribute it to increased use of contraception among sexually active teens and increased numbers of teens choosing abstinence," Sullivan said. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA