For background, read Abstinence Education Effective, Fed Study Shows
UPDATE 4/8/15: CDC Reports Further Drop in Teenage Pregnancy & Birth Rates for 2013
Note ridicule of abstinence at end of ABC News video:
-- From "Teen pregnancy way down, but not for everyone" by Neil Katz, CBS News 4/6/11
Teen pregnancy is down, way down in America, but teens in this country are still getting pregnant at rates that dwarf the rest of the developed world.
That's according to a new Centers for Disease Control report, which found teen birth rates dropped 37 percent over the last two decades and are now at a record low. But the agency says it's still not nearly good enough. Teen birth rates in America are up to nine times higher than many other developed countries. We find ourselves nestled between Bulgaria and Romania on the issue.
There were around 400,000 teen births in 2009, the last year for which the agency has released data. Hispanic and black teens were two to three times as likely to be teen moms as whites. Geography also played a role.
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From "Teen pregnancy rate lower but not low enough" by Aimee Keenan-Greene, Providence Children's Health Examiner 4/7/11
In all, about 4 percent of all teenage girls give birth annually. Teen births represent 10 percent of the 4 million births each year.
Hispanic and black teen girls are about 2-3 times more likely to give birth than white teen girls. Use of birth control is lower among sexually active black and Hispanic high school students than white students, according to the CDC.
The US teen pregnancy rate fell by more than one-third from 1991 through 2005, but then increased by 5 percent over two consecutive years. Data for 2008 and 2009, indicates the long-term downward trend has resumed.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. teen birth rate lowest on record... but still one of the highest in developed countries" by UK Daily Mail Reporter 4/6/11
And a CDCP study showed that virginity is making a comeback with fewer young Americans having sex. [About 46% have had sexual intercourse for both girls and boys, a decrease of about 20% from 1991.]
The total fertility rate declined two per cent to 2,084.5 per 1,000 women. All measures of unmarried childbearing reached record levels; 40.6 per cent of births were to unmarried women in 2008.
Birth rates for women 20 to 39 years were down 1 to 3 per cent, whereas the birth rate for women 40-44 rose to the highest level reported in more than 40 years.
Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of 15 to 24-year -old men who had never had any form of sexual contact with another person was 27 per cent - up 22 per cent from 2002 - while for women it was 29 per cent - also up from 22 per cent.
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From "Teen Moms: Just a Small Part of Single Mothers" posted at Family and Religion, The Heritage Foundation 4/8/11
But there’s a flipside to this positive news. Despite the dip in teen births, over the last five decades, the number of unwed mothers in the U.S. has actually soared. Whereas in the 1960s fewer than 10 percent of all babies were born outside of marriage, today that number is over 40 percent. And for some groups it has already reached 50 percent or far surpassed it. For example, nearly half of Hispanic children and nearly three-fourths of African-American children are born to single mothers annually.
This is because fewer and fewer marriages are taking place in the United States, a trend that is especially common in low-income communities, where many of these single mothers reside. Yet it’s not that these women don’t value or desire marriage; rather, the perpetuation of single-motherhood has fueled a cycle in which unwed birth has become the norm. Instead of marriage and childbearing being a sequential process, the two have become separate, unassociated practices. And far too often, marriage never becomes part of the story.
Unfortunately, most of the talk about lowering out-of-wedlock birth centers on increasing access to birth control. But research reveals that lack of available birth control is not the problem. Researchers find that many single, low-income women are having babies because they desire children. Although marriage has broken down, bearing children is still highly valued.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read, Defeating Marriage & Destroying Family: Survey
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
U.S. Birthrate Below Replacement; Record Unwed Birthrate
Sex on the Rise, Procreation in Decline
Society Without Procreation: Germany Reacts
Black Genocide in New York City (nearly 2 of 3 killed in womb)
Teaching Sex to 5-year-olds Reduces Teen Pregnancy?
Sexualization of Kids Doesn't Yield Self-worth