Coming from someone who grew up in rural Virginia in what could easily be labeled as a "redneck town", the issue of teen pregnancy is a very familiar one. That is not to suggest that teen pregnancy is an issue in all redneck towns, or even most, but it certainly is in mine. I have a disproportionate amount of friends who were or are teen mothers or fathers. By no means does this make them bad, idiotic, or irresponsible people. Many of the children of teen parents live better lives than children of adult parents, but the issue goes far beyond that. I'd like to discuss why teen pregnancy happens, the effects of it, and how it can be prevented.
The question of why teen pregnancy happens is relatively easy to answer. Today's children and teens, unlike previous generations, have resources such as internet, television, movies, music, etc. which are constantly exposing them to the beauty of sex. Although I am just as much a part of the same generation, I grew up watching shows like Leave it to Beaver or Happy Days, in which every guy's dream was to "go steady with Joanie Cunningham" rather than "round the bases with Erica". Today, youngsters are watching shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Teen Mom, and 16 & Pregnant. Now, you can make the argument that these shows may condemn pregnancy rather than glorify it, but teen girls will always want what they see on television.
On the other hand, a lot of the issue has to do with both boredom and freedom. Teen pregnancy, according studies, is most common in the South and has particularly high concentration in rural areas. This is partly due to the lack of activities available for youth, particularly teens that have yet to earn their driver's licenses. In a very limited environment with little access to facilities such as a bowling alley or a movie theater, it is not uncommon for teens to turn to sex as a way to pass the time. Going hand in hand with that, another major cause is the increased level of freedom. Studies indicate that youth growing up in rural areas have much more time away from parents or adult supervision than youth in urban areas. This can be attributed to things such as longer work commutes for parents, less fear of an intruder, a higher inclination to allow one's child explore outdoors, etc.
Certainly, most teens do not want to get pregnant, but they do want to have sex, just like anyone else. Personally, I have no issue with teens wanting to have sex. After all, it is a normal physical desire, and with the growing influence of sex in popular culture, it's surprising that there aren't more 10 year-olds losing their virginity. In fact, most of us became sexually active during our teenage years—right or wrong. Sexual activity, however, is not the problem; sexual irresponsibility is. If teens were being responsible and practicing safe sex in the right way, there would be no need for this discussion. But since when have teens ever acted responsibly?
When I say that teen pregnancy rates are a crisis, don't just take my word for it. I'd like to highlight some key facts about teen pregnancy to really illustrate the severity of the situation.
-Three out of ten teens will be pregnant before their 20th birthday.
-Two out of ten teens will be pregnant twice before their 20th birthday.
-Teen pregnancy costs the federal government about $9.4 billion per year.
-Teens 18-19 account for about 500,000 pregnancies a year and about 234,000 births (that's a lot of abortions).
-30% of all females that drop out of high school cite pregnancy as the reason.
-Less than 2% of women who have children before 18 graduate college before 30.
-81% of children born to adults receive high school diplomas, while 66% of children born to teens do.
-Only one in five sets of teen parents will get married.
-Children born to teen parents are 22% more likely to become teen parents themselves.
Those statistics are frightening aren't they? If this doesn't constitute a crisis, I don't know what does. And it's clear that teen parenthood has negative effects for both the parents and the child. In fact, teen mothers are more likely to depend on welfare, become pregnant again, become depressed, abuse alcohol and drugs during pregnancy, and smoke during pregnancy. Children of teen parents are at a higher risk of retarded cognitive development, infant mortality, low birth weight, underdeveloped organs, and eventual incarceration. No matter how many responsible, loving, caring teen parents you may know, these issues carry serious weight.
Now that I've addressed - at least partly - why teen pregnancy happens and its effects, it's necessary to discuss how we can curb its frequency. In its simplest form, the answer to that is education, education, and more education. And I don't mean abstinence education. There are more than enough studies that indicate that abstinence education is completely ineffective, and it's about time that sexual education curricula catch up. It's no longer practical to try to teach our kids that if they have sex they'll go blind. What they need to be taught is that if they have unprotected sex, they'll have children and forfeit many opportunities which lie in their future—a very true statement. Teens need to learn about the benefits of safe sex because, like it or not, they will become sexually active eventually.
Aside from educating teens on safe sex, their parents, especially, need to be educated. Today's parents grew up learning from the same abstinence curricula and, therefore, don't know the truth about sex, teen pregnancy, or STDs anymore than their children do. It's one thing for a nurse to stand in front of a group of teens and tell them to practice safe sex, but if parents can become educated and establish an open dialogue with their children, then the message will resonate with a much greater impact. In fact, 76% of teens say that it would be easier to delay sex if they could have an open dialogue with their parents about it, and 60% of teens say that they do not use contraception because they do not want their parents to find out. In order to fix this, we must work to change the mindset of parents. At the end of the day, any good parent's priority is not their religious or moral objections to premarital sex, it is the well-being of their child, and that must be capitalized upon.
From a more policy-related perspective, there is a lot that can be done. The federal government offers hundreds of millions of dollars for programs to either educate teens on pregnancy or provide contraceptives to low income 18 and 19 year-olds. Many states like Virginia, however, do not apply for or accept these funds out of principle—either because they oppose big government or because they refuse any curriculum not rooted in abstinence.
The first step, on the state level, is to begin utilizing all of the federal resources that are out there. State programs should also use other outlets besides schools, such as social media and television, to educate youth on the dangers of unsafe sex. Programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families could include requisite education programs for teen mothers, and the Child Welfare Department should practice more home visits to ensure that children are receiving the proper care and nourishment.
On the local level, organizations should work (as mentioned) to educate parents, as well as incorporate experience-based educational programs where teens can interact with teen parents and children of teen parents to learn the real life consequences of pregnancy. In school districts that would allow it, mandating a sexual education course for graduation, though controversial, would improve knowledge across the board.
Lastly, on the federal level, Title X clinics (clinics which provide care for low-income individuals) should continue to be funded. Being a proponent for small government, I would prefer to see these clinics operated on a state level, but so long as they are federally operated, they should also be federally funded. Last year alone, Title X clinics prevented 1.2 million pregnancies through contraception. That's 590,000 births and 400,000 abortions. Say what you will about Title X funding; that's 590,000 less children and parents dependent on taxpayer funded entitlement programs and 400,000 less taxpayer funded abortions. Studies show that one Medicaid covered birth costs - on average - $12,770 while each Medicaid covered contraception prescription costs $239. I would much rather pay $239 than $12,770 along with the long term expenses.
The fact of the matter is, there is no single way to resolve the issue of teen pregnancy. It needs to be done in a multifaceted and modernized way. The first and most important step, however, is changing the cultural view of teen sex. In order for parents and voters to accept the necessary changes in educational curricula and local programs, they must first change their views on the issue as a whole and understand the tremendous consequences which society is facing. Almost any mother or father, when faced with the reality that their daughter has a 33% of being pregnant before 20, will likely begin to change his or her opinion on the issue. By improving teen pregnancy rates, education and graduation rates will improve, crime and incarceration rates will decrease, infant mortality rates will decrease, job attainment rates will improve resulting in a stronger economy, and society - as a whole - will benefit immensely.
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