With reports of a teen pregnancy pact in a Gloucester
high school dominating the news, you may be surprised to learn that the teen
pregnancy rate in the U.S.
is the lowest it’s been in 30 years. The number of pregnancies among women aged
15-19 dropped to 72 per 1,000 teens in 2004, down from a high of 117 per 1,000 teens in
1990. The abortion rate has also declined in the last three decades.
But this positive trend may be reversing. In 2006, the
number of live births among teen girls rose 3 percent—a sharp change from the
downhill trend of previous years. It remains to be seen whether 2006 was just a
particularly, uh, fertile year, or whether this is the sign of a larger
problem. Some blame pop culture icons—such as Jamie Lyn Spears and Juno—for adding
a “coolness” factor to teen pregnancy.
Despite the comparatively low teen pregnancy rate in the
early part of the century, the U.S.
still has the highest teen pregnancy rate of developed nations. And one thing
is clear: abstinence-only sex education is not the solution. Several studies have
found that those enrolled in abstinence-only programs are no more likely than
those enrolled in comprehensive sex ed. to delay sex or use contraception. Hmm, any other ideas?
Photo: America's Promise
