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In the Dominican Republic one in four teenage girls gets pregnant. That gives them the third highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America.

In the U.S., by contrast, that number is only one in 20.

The Dominican Republic has been trying to lower the teen pregnancy rate since 2002, but these efforts must also respect religious sensibilities.

Much like the U.S. states that taught abstinence only sex education and ended up with the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country, the previous push to lower teen pregnancy rates in the Dominican Republic have failed.

Now the country prepares to try a new program, with more funding. Reporter Katie Manning talks to people in Santo Domingo about whether or not a new campaign that doesn’t discuss contraception, can succeed.

 

ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

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