-------------------------

Following Decade-Long Decline, U.S. Teen Pregnancy
Rate Increases As Both Births And Abortions Rise
Gap Between Blacks and Hispanics Has Closed, But
Rates Among Both Groups Remain Significantly Higher
Than Among Non-Hispanic Whites
Guttmacher Institute

Tuesday, January 26, 2010


For the first time in more than a decade, the nation's
teen pregnancy rate rose 3% in 2006, reflecting
increases in teen birth and abortion rates of 4% and 1%,
respectively.

These new data from the Guttmacher Institute are
especially noteworthy because they provide the first
documentation of what experts have suspected for several
years, based on trends in teens' contraceptive use-that
the overall teen pregnancy rate would increase in the
mid-2000s following steep declines in the 1990s and a
subsequent plateau in the early 2000s. The significant
drop in teen pregnancy rates in the 1990s was
overwhelmingly the result of more and better use of
contraceptives among sexually active teens. However,
this decline started to stall out in the early 2000s, at
the same time that sex education programs aimed
exclusively at promoting abstinence-and prohibited by
law from discussing the benefits of contraception-became
increasingly widespread and teens' use of contraceptives
declined.

"After more than a decade of progress, this reversal is
deeply troubling," says Heather Boonstra, Guttmacher
Institute senior public policy associate. "It coincides
with an increase in rigid abstinence- only-until-
marriage programs, which received major funding boosts
under the Bush administration. A strong body of research
shows that these programs do not work. Fortunately, the
heyday of this failed experiment has come to an end with
the enactment of a new teen pregnancy prevention
initiative that ensures that programs will be age-
appropriate, medically accurate and, most importantly,
based on research demonstrating their effectiveness."

The teen pregnancy rate declined 41% between its peak,
in 1990 (116.9 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19),
and 2005 (69.5 per 1,000). Teen birth and abortion rates
also declined, with births dropping 35% between 1991 and
2005 and teen abortion declining 56% between its peak,
in 1988, and 2005. But all three trends reversed in
2006. In that year, there were 71.5 pregnancies per
1,000 women aged 15-19. Put another way, about 7% of
teen girls became pregnant in 2006.

Just as the long-term declines in teen pregnancy
occurred among all racial and ethnic groups through
2005, the reversal in 2006 also involved all demographic
groups:

* Among black teens, the pregnancy rate declined by
45% (from 223.8 per 1,000 in 1990 to 122.7 in 2005),
before increasing to 126.3 in 2006.

* Among Hispanic teens, the pregnancy rate decreased
by 26% (from 169.7 per 1,000 in 1992 to 124.9 in
2005), before rising to 126.6 in 2006.

* Among non-Hispanic white teens, the pregnancy rate
declined 50% (from 86.6 per 1,000 in 1990 to 43.3
per 1,000 in 2005), before increasing to 44.0 in
2006.

Because the decline among black teens was so much
greater than that among Hispanics, the long-standing gap
between the two groups has disappeared. However, the gap
between white teens and teens of color is as large as
ever.

State-level data are not yet available for 2006, but
varied widely in 2005. The highest pregnancy rates were
in New Mexico (93 per 1,000 women 15-19), Nevada (90),
Arizona (89), Texas (88) and Mississippi (85), and the
lowest rates were in New Hampshire (33), Vermont (40),
Maine (48), Minnesota (47) and North Dakota (46). Teen
pregnancy rates declined in every state between 1988 and
2000, and in every state except North Dakota between
2000 and 2005.

"It is too soon to tell whether the increase in the teen
pregnancy rate between 2005 and 2006 is a short term
fluctuation, a more lasting stabilization or the
beginning of a significant new trend, any of which would
be of great concern," says Lawrence Finer, Guttmacher's
director of domestic research. "Either way, it is
clearly time to redouble our efforts to make sure our
young people have the information, interpersonal skills
and health services they need to prevent unwanted
pregnancies and to become sexually healthy adults."

Click here for the full report, "U.S. Teenage
Pregnancies, Births and Abortions: National and State
Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity."

[full report:
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf]

Click here for Facts on American Teens' Sexual and
Reproductive Health.

[Facts on American Teens:
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-ATSRH.pdf]

-------------------------

That's not surprising, really. If people weren't so conservative about sex education, and even funding research into birth control methods, we wouldn't have these problems.

On a side note, even people on the left are starting to buy into the "abortion is murder" nonsense. So even if they are pro-choice, they will have the child.

Either Teens are getting stupid, Condoms are getting thinner, or Birth Control pills are becoming defective.

I'm so sad and conservative about this, I'll never teach my kids about safe sex ever.

Or it could have something to do with restricted access to and education about contraceptives for teens, which - if you read the article - seems quite clearly to be the case.
And obviously kids from poor and working class families and communities have even less access to contraceptives, adequate sex education, and abortion - in other words, as with most things, the cause is primarily economic. So contrary to doogaaetrusblackrazor's assertion, I think the social conservatism around this issue is not the cause of inadequate access to these things among certain layers of society (primarily poor and working class) but rather, a reflection of it, which sometimes also serves to reinforce the trend but is certainly not the driving factor.

Building on this, the fact that the teen pregnancy rate has started rising again this year might be attributed to the economic downturn reducing access to contraceptives and (more gradually) sex education.

As others have mentioned, the primary factors at work here are lack of access to sex education, contraceptives and abortion. I actually have a decent amount of experience in poor, rural settings where teenagers getting pregnant and having kids is actually normal. There's a high school in this region that is so hard hit by this that I would estimate a good 20-25% of the female students end up pregnant, and of course very few will ever finish school. And that is a conservative estimate.

Actually, there are many reasons why teen pregnancy as STDs are on the rise in the US. Take this article for example.

In the 1960s and 70s, kids werent being taught in the homes, for various reasons and teen pregnancy was on the rise. With federal funding, the Planned parenthood program became one of the most successful government programs that educated women, provided birth control, including abortion. Over the years funding for such programs were drastically cut. I remember older friends of mine who were in their teens received abortions without the consent of their parents! Of course conservative law makers stepped in and made it illegal to give teens abortions without their parents consent.


Society has changed since then, and with it sexual conduct. I believe arming our children with the correct information will reduce unwanted pregnancy as well as STDs. As of now, we arent allowed to go into the schools and disperse information about reproduction, STDs and even condoms. The end result will be misinformation handed down that will actually burden the system more than if preventive measures were taken; unwanted pregnancies, treating STDS as well as financial dependency for HIV medical treatment, which is astronomical.


But in the eyes of conservative parents, if you pretend your kids arent sexually active and teach them abstinence, then they wont have sex. Just ask Sarah Palin.

Also kids don't care anymore. Having sex, protected or not, is 'cool'. And the drugs and alcohol they can easily get doesn't help.

So you don't think the problem is inadequate access to contraceptives, abortion, and sex education among the poor and working class, but rather, the problem is "kids these days".
That's some analysis you've got there.

To be fair, I think he was being sarcastic.

Most of the "moral" outrage against teenage pregnancy has obvious racist and sexist elements, but I think there are important reasons to regard the more obvious ageist sentiments as more objectionable, as teenage pregnancy may be a strategic reproductive choice among poor minorities who would otherwise experience interruption of established labor market activity. Consider, for example, Hotz et al.'s Teenage Childbearing and Its Life Cycle Consequences: Exploiting a Natural Experiment

Just sayin'.

Nope I don't. I don't know how old you are but you have to be in school in these days to see how teens really are. In my estimation I'd say about 85% of teens in school talk most of the day about drugs, alcohol, partying, who had sex with who and who's pregnant.

I know I can't speak for everywhere, as I guess I should state I speak on what I know or are informed of, the health teachers and nurse give out free condoms to those who ask and there are many stores at which they can be purchased. There's an abortion clinic right down the street from where I live that does them for teens for free. Sex education is taught in all 3 different high schools and the middle school I went to.

In the last three months 6 girls I am good friends with and went to school with have all gotten pregnant. What the exact stories are about it happening I'm not sure as I did not ask. I know from somewhat personal experience with health insurance you can get almost any birth control pill free as my girlfriend does. In my view it is the 'kids these days' not the resources.

Revisiting the first part of this:

What is this comment supposed to show? That teens in your community talk about things going on in their lives? Who would've known!
In any case, anecdotal claims and personal experience in this context are thoroughly devoid of any authority, in particular when they constitute the entirety of your argument, all the more when you make no mention of the class background of the people you are describing (although, TBH, the descriptions throughout the rest of your post do not match up at all with the situation for poor and working class people in this country, so that in itself seems to be a sufficient indication).

As for your claim that there is an abortion clinic down the street from you which provides teens with free abortions... you'll have to forgive me, but I don't buy it; citation needed. In any event, even if it were true that doctors at one abortion clinic were somehow working for free, it would be an isolated case and a far cry (to say the least) from the usual situation, so it would still be completely irrelevant to the broader issue.

The following points in the wiki article* paint a different picture from your own:

And that's before we even get into the complications which stem from teen-specific abortions. There are plenty of good articles on this as well; I'll track them down and give some links when I have the time.

*I only quote Wikipedia after I've checked to make sure the portion I'm quoting is legitimately sourced BTW.

This was the case when I was in high school 10 years ago. I'm pretty sure it was the case long before then as well. So I think we can safely dismiss that.

Oh...so you weren't kidding? Hmmph.

Well, Apikoros has done a good job of dismantling your ridiculous claims.

I did say in my previous post I was only talking about what I know and have heard about, it does seem as if you think I'm talking about every teen everywhere in the world. I know it probably has different circumstances in different places. I can't be everywhere and see everything that happens in everyone's lives that makes things like teen pregnancy happen. As for the class background of the people I mentioned I'd say there average middle class, a few even better off than I am, no one I mentioned lives in a dumpster. 2/3 of the girls I mentioned have jobs, are going to college, have their license and a car. I have a job but I don't go to college or have a car. I can't afford that but they can. I know for a fact they do abortions for free me and my girlfriend were told that when we went there so she could get a pregnancy test (no it was negative).

Why should we dismiss that? Dismissing it makes it seem as if it not's part of the problem. When people are intoxicated and judgement is poor, people get pregnant sometimes without even remembering how it happened. In the school I went to kids who, including me, were still virgins were often ridiculed for it, having had sex was 'cool'.

I don't think my claims are ridiculous, not EVERYTHING is the governments fault, the govt is PART of the problem but not all of it. You need to understand people's apathy. Promiscuious sex is portrayed in media and seen as normal, most teens are very impressionable do whatever it takes to be accepted by others, I'm not saying my idea is the majority of the problem, I'm just saying it is part of the problem, there are many factors that go into teen pregnancy.

I think I need to clarify again to you all that I am speaking on what it's like in my area and how I see it as PART of the problem, do not take it as me speaking on everyone, everywhere.

Because this has always been the case. Teens were drinking and doing drugs back when I was in high school and having sex was considered cool. Yet the teen pregnancy rate has actually increased from that time. So clearly something else is factoring in here, say a reduction in reprouctive healtha wareness and benefits?

I agree, I know there is other factors but I'm just stating I think it's part of the problem.