Robot Babies Not Effective Birth Control, Australian Study Finds (sky.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Girls given imitation babies to look after in an effort to deter teenage pregnancy could actually be more likely to get pregnant, according to a study. Researchers in Australia found 8% of girls who used the dolls were expecting by the age of 20, compared with 4% of those who did not. The number of girls having at least one abortion was also higher among girls given the dolls: 9% compared to 6%. 'Baby Think It Over' dolls were used in a Virtual Infant Parenting (VIP) programme which began in 57 schools in Western Australia in 2003. During the three-year study, published in The Lancet, 1267 girls aged 13 to 15 used the simulators -- which need to be fed and changed, while 1567 learned the normal health curriculum. The idea originated in the United States and is used in 89 countries. Researchers from the Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia are now warning that such programmes may be a waste of public money.

Comments

Re:No, but...

[Mashiki]

I'd moderate you down for posting something so stupid, but what the hell...I'll reply in stead. Conservatives already know that despite the myths that they don't. Religious conservatives on the other hand? That ranges from yes they agree that it does, to nope not at all, to varying religious reasons that they're against it.

But while we're trotting out the bullshit, how about we toss this one in the ring. It would be nice if liberals would admit that GMO crops could help the world, or Margaret Sanger was a devout racist who believed that birth control was the perfect way to fix the "negro problem." I'm sure someone will come out with but but but, yeah. Go read up on the "negro project" and then look at the history and background of both people. There wasn't an altruistic motive, they believe that negros were subhuman and the best way to fix it was to stop them from reproducing. Enjoy that eugenics ideology there guys.

Re:social experiments

[smooth wombat]

Failure of Society to teach (enforce) those to live up to their responsibilities.

Failure of society? You mean it's my responsibility to teach your kid not to rape women or to take care of the kids they create?

Is this the same society which wants me to pay for someone the smoker's, alcoholic's, drug user's and obese health care because they can't be bothered to take care of themselves?

If you want me to take on this responsibility that's fine, but you can't then complain about the tactics I use. I don't think you mean what you think you mean.