I think it’s safe to say that many, if not most people would agree that thirteen year olds should not be pregnant or responsible for a pregnancy. While just recently in Britain, a 13 year old, Alfi Patten became a dad. www.independent.co.uk/.../the-big-question-why-are-teen age-pregnancy-rates-so-high-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-1623... - 65k - Cached. The United States and the UK are at the top of the list for teen births. UK has the highest teenage birth rates in Western Europe and in the US teen pregnancy rates dropped dramatically since 1991, but still remain much higher than in many European countries. In the UK more than 8,000 girls under the age of 16 years old become pregnant each year. In the US 90 per 1,000 girls between ages 15-19 become pregnant. In New York City it’s 100 per 1,000 and in the Bronx it’s 124 per 1000. USA Today recently reported that teen birth rates significantly increased in 26 states representing most regions in the USA. Professor Casey, I mean John, you love charts and I love maps. Here is a really cool map that shows the increases in each state. www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-07-teenbirths_N.htm
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During our discussion on comparative public administration in class last Saturday we mentioned many terms such as international, multinational, cross-national, cross-culture and intercultural to name just a few. How does having teen births so high in the US and the UK while at the same time countries like Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Germany have much lower birth rates. After all they are just teens, right?
Teen pregnancy is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that is influenced by societal and neighborhood norms, culture, education, religion, family and peers and much to do with the terms that we discussed in class. And what we will discuss in upcoming classes, the government.
Ever since 1916 when Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood was thrown in jail for providing contraceptives and advice on reproductive health to women in Brooklyn, teen pregnancy continues to be a complex and controversial issue. In order to find some answers perhaps efforts must examine the many antecedents toward teen sexual behavior that address both the proximal and distal influences.
D Lomax
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Don't get me started on this one, Deb, particularly since our morality (sic) plays out inconsistently. I can't speak to what's going on the UK, but here we have a double standard. For example, JUST SAY NO, or so Nancy R. said some years back about drugs. In our society, I'm not sure what's worse from the standpoint of public opinion that is so easily manipulated, drugs or sex. (And let's leave a conversation about the Hemlock Society for another time.) Though we do have the resouces to address teen pregnancy (this is clear), somebody's morality has retarded real progress in the teen pregnancy area. One question naturally is: whose morality?
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