A new gel developed to help fight HIV infection is even more effective at reducing the risk of herpes transmission, according to a study published online late last year. The gel’s active ingredient is tenofovir, a well-known drug used to treat AIDS. But what is really surprising is that the gel reduced the risk of herpes infection by 51 percent.

The clinical trials were especially well received because this gel is the first weapon women have that they can use all on their own. The gel is applied to the vulva and vagina a few hours before and after sex. Not only can women now access a form of protection that defends against both HIV and herpes, but it also doesn’t require a partner’s cooperation. This means if a male partner doesn’t know he is infected or outright lies to his female partner, she can still feel protected to some degree.

This is especially important given the rates of genital herpes infection among teens and young adults in the U.S. While a herpes infection is not life-threatening, it is also not curable. While the gel is still being researched and is years away from being approved for sale in the U.S., a simple gel that helps prevent the transmission of herpes would certainly be an easy way for teens to protect themselves from the virus.

—Olivier Vanasse, 17, Staff Writer

Hormonal birth control, like the Pill or the Patch, can be an expensive precaution to take. Teenage girls and adult women around the country pay $160 to $600 per year for hormonal contraception. This is money that could be spent on schoolbooks or groceries.

Well, this financial burden for many girls and women will soon be a thing of the past. Starting August 2012, health insurance companies will be required by the Affordable Care Act to do away with co-pays for government-approved preventive-care measures for women.

That means that starting a year from now, hormonal birth control methods will be free each month, as long as you have health insurance. Other preventive-care services will be free as well: screening for the human papillomavirus (HPV) in women over 30 and counseling for HIV and STDs. The only limitation on this is that the contraception must be prescribed by a physician, which means that emergency contraception pills (also known as the “morning after pill”) that are sold over the counter will not qualify and neither will condoms. However, the new emergency contraception pill ella™ is still prescription-only, as are most oral contraceptives, which means they will be covered

This decision is controversial, because many religious groups say that birth control is against their beliefs. In response to these concerns, religious institutions are allowed to decide privately what their health insurance will cover.

Sexual health advocates are calling this new decision a victory for women, as it will now put hormonal contraception within the financial reach of more women than ever before. Planned Parenthood was so excited about the news that they danced—Bollywood style.

—Taylor McCabe, 19, Contributor

Anyone who has ever taken a sex ed class has heard about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including the lowdown on how you can catch them, how to prevent them and how to treatment them. Information on STDs is important for anyone who is engaging or planning to engage in oral, anal or vaginal sex. And the issue of STDs, at least in one respect, has become a bit more serious.

The class of antibiotics that are used to treat gonorrhea are called cephalosporins, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the disease is showing a dramatic increase in resistance to this treatment. And just recently, a new strain of gonorrhea that is resistant to cephalosporins was identified, leaving doctors scrambling to find drugs to use against the bacteria.

Why is this significant? Because right now cephalosporins are the only treatment for gonorrhea, which means that gonorrhea could move from “treatable” to “untreatable.” This is just one more reason to add to the long list of reasons why everyone should practice safer sex by using latex condoms and dental dams during oral, anal or vaginal sex.

—Taylor McCabe, 18, Contributor

You’re probably tired of hearing it, but the truth remains: abstinence is the only way to completely avoid the risk of pregnancy and/or STDs. Yes, there are ways to practice safer sex, and for those who choose to have sex, safer sex is the way to go! But a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that an increasing number of teens have never had sex before.

The report drew from surveys of 13,500 men and women ages 15 to 44. In 2002, it was estimated that 22 percent of males and females had never had sexual contact with another person. The CDC’s recent report based on data from a 2006 to 2008 survey found that 27 percent of male and 29 percent of female 15-to 24-year-olds had never had sexual contact with another person. This shows an increase of five percent for males and an increase of seven percent for females from 2002.

And sure, these results were obtained by survey, and people may not always be completely honest. But even so, these numbers indicate that sexuality education messages about waiting until you’re ready for sex are sticking, just a bit.

Of course, abstinence isn’t for everyone. But if you do feel that abstinence is the best choice, you’re clearly (and even more so now that you would have been a few years ago) not alone.

—Taylor McCabe, 18, Contributor

Birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and, yes, abortion are vitally important health care services. Planned Parenthood makes sure millions of people—including many who are young and uninsured—receive these services. Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics save lives and tax dollars in the long-term, and that should be the bottom line in any discussion over federal funding.

This is what makes the February 18th House of Representatives 240 to 185 vote to eliminate Planned Parenthood’s federal funding so shocking, heartbreaking and, ultimately, dangerous. The legislation didn’t pass the Senate, but budget negotiations are under way. If conservative members of Congress strip away funding, 63 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics may close, putting many young and low income people at risk across the country.

Many people take offense to Planned Parenthood’s abortion procedures, but overlook the fact that legislation already prevents government funds from being spent on abortion. Representatives claimed that any federal money lets Planned Parenthood take care of its other expenses, “freeing up” money for abortions. Such a hostile, shortsighted position fails to consider the other essential health care that Planned Parenthood provides. In fact, only three percent of Planned Parenthood’s services are abortions, which means that the overwhelming majority of their services and funding has nothing to do with abortion. But even so, lest we forget, abortion is legal in the U.S.: Planned Parenthood has as much a right to provide abortions with its own funding as it does to use federal funding to perform STD tests. Any religious or ethical objections to abortion should not—and absolutely must not—prevent providing support for vital services like cancer screening and STD testing.

Other representatives argue that Planned Parenthood is an expense we cannot afford. Can Americans truly deny a pregnant woman a cancer screening, one she may be unable to otherwise receive, with the excuse that this is a tough financial year? Following the vote in the House, Representative Barbara Lee called the decision and its motive a “war on women.” As far as I’m concerned, we’re facing nothing less.

—Meg Gibbon, 19, Contributor