Teen mom Bristol Palin is back in the spotlight, promoting abstinence as an ambassador for The Candie’s Foundation. She recently spoke to teens at a town hall meeting and talked about how becoming a teen mom has changed her life. See what she had to say:

We think it’s great that Bristol is speaking publicly about her experience as a teen mom. But is her message confusing? In an interview on Wednesday with Good Morning America, Bristol said “I just want to go out there and promote abstinence and say this is the safest choice.” Yet she told Fox News earlier this year that abstinence is “not realistic at all.”

It’s absolutely true that abstinence is the only 100-percent effective way to prevent both pregnancy and STDs. And Bristol’s suggestion that teens wait as long as they can to have sex is great advice. But with teen birth rates on the rise and young people at a higher risk for STDs, is it irresponsible to tell teens “just say no,” while leaving out important info on condoms and other forms of birth control?

Maybe teens can learn a lesson from Levi Johnston, the father of Bristol’s baby. Here’s what he said in response to Bristol’s abstinence-only campaign:

May isn’t just about warmer weather and gearing up for prom. It’s also Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about unplanned teen pregnancy and how to prevent it.

Did you know that the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy and teen birth rates in the industrialized world? And one-third of girls get pregnant by age 20, according to the Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Too many teens think “it could never happen to me.” But the truth is that unplanned pregnancy can happen to anyone. That’s why it’s so important to wait if you haven’t had sex yet. And even if you have had sex, if you realize you’re just not ready for the responsibility of preventing a pregnancy and protecting yourself from STDs, then wait until you know that you can handle it. And if you’ve chosen to have sex, make sure you talk to your partner about using condoms and other forms of birth control—and then use them.

StayTeen.org and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy challenge you to take their National Day Quiz to see how you’d respond to sexual situations that put you at risk of pregnancy. And check out their Relationship Reality widget below for a chance to win an iPod touch or plane tickets!

This week MTV premiered Pedro, a film about the life of AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. He was the first openly gay, HIV-positive person on TV. Pedro’s story is just as relevant today as it was in 1994, when he grabbed the nation’s attention on The Real World: San Francisco.

Pedro was diagnosed as HIV positive when he was 17 years old. While MTV’s cameras were rolling, Pedro used the spotlight to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and openly talked about how he got HIV through unprotected sex. Although he died when he was only 22 years old, his story lives on as a reminder for young people to take control of their sex lives and to speak openly and honestly about safer sex and getting tested.

MTV’s Get Yourself Tested (GYT) is a new campaign, aiming to remove the taboos surrounding STD testing. One in two young people will get a sexually transmitted disease (STD) by age 25-and most won’t know it! So before foreplay, GYT!

When you hear the word “condom,” you probably think of the male condom. But did you know that there’s a female condom, too? The female condom is the only form of birth control designed for women that protects against both pregnancy and STDs. So why isn’t the female condom as popular as the male condom? It might have to do with price.

Female condoms cost between $2.80 and $4 each! That’s super expensive, considering that male condoms can cost as little as 50 cents each. But a new, cheaper female condom was recently approved. And they may cost as little as 60 cents when sold to clinics and health organizations.

What does that mean for you? It means that when this new female condom hits the market in a year or two, you’ll have one more affordable option when deciding how to protect yourself from pregnancy and STDs. For girls, the female condom is great—it’s designed specifically for women and even protects the labia from skin-on-skin STD transmission! Of course, not having sex will keep you completely safe from pregnancy and STDs. But for partners that decide to have sex, the female condom might be something to consider.

In the future you might see more female condoms alongside male condoms at the pharmacy. If female condoms were as accessible and inexpensive as male condoms, would you use them?

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Getting your boo flowers, chocolate and a card might be nice. But why not try something unique? Have a conversation about safer sex!

Having convos about condoms and STD testing on V-Day might sound like the ultimate mood killer. But safer sex and romance go hand in hand! It’s fear of STDs and pregnancy that can get in the way of enjoying the time you spend with your partner, not condoms. Show your partner that you really care about him or her: Talk about getting tested and using condoms or other latex barriers before things get hot and heavy.

Can you imagine getting an STD for Valentine’s Day? That’s no way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Check out this great video from Trojan’s Evolve campaign reminding you to have safer sex and use condoms: