Abstinence Education to Blame for Rise in Teen Pregnancy Rates, Report Finds

by Amy Hatch (Subscribe to Amy Hatch's posts)
Jan 28th 2010 11:11AM

Filed under: In The News, Health & Safety: Teens, Behavior: Teens

Teen pregnancies are on the rise again. Credit: jupiterimages

After a long period of decline, teen pregnancy rates are on the rise again and experts say that abstinence-only programs, the media and absent parents are to blame.

A Jan. 26 report from the New York-based Guttmacher Institute reveals that the pregnancy rate among 15- to 19-year-olds rose three percent in 2005-2006, the first increase in more than a decade. The nonpartisan think tank looked at its own data and that of the federal government to determine that more teens are getting pregnant now than since before the 1990s.

What's causing the jump? According to Guttmacher, it was the focus on abstinence-only programs that began in the early 2000s, which were prohibited by law from including contraception information. As a result, teens' use of contraceptives declined.

The report "should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who still believes that teenagers aren't sexually active or that abstinence-only programs curb the rate of teen pregnancy," said Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in an email interview with ParentDish. "Over the course of a decade, federal and state governments have spent $1.5 billion on abstinence-only programs. It is a tragedy that we are witnessing an increase in the number of teens who are getting pregnant, especially when we know what works -- medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education that gives young people the tools to make responsible decisions about their health."

The best tool in a parent's arsenal, she adds, is communication. "Studies show that the best way to prevent teen pregnancy is to provide teens with honest, accurate information."

Tricia Goyer is an author and speaker who works with teen moms on a weekly basis, and she knows of what she speaks. She became pregnant with her eldest son, Cory, now 20, when she was a high-school senior. Goyer, author of "Life Interrupted: The Scoop on Being a Young Mom," says there are two other key factors in play when it comes to the increase in teen pregnancy: Absent parents and the media.

"Parents today live busy lives," she says. "They aren't taking the time to build close-knit relationships with their kids. Many, many young women are also growing up without fathers. I believe this leaves a hole in the hearts of teens. They are yearning for love that they don't have at home and look for it in each other."

Goyer points out that glamorizing teen pregnancy on TV and in the movies only serves to teach young women -- and men -- that engaging in sexual activity has very few real consequences.

"There are very few television shows or movies that show the reality," she says. " Most movies or television shows have teens sleeping together with no consequences. Not only that, pregnancy is just one issue. Even more teens are getting STDs (sexually-transmitted diseases). Even more than that have to deal with pain, rejection and an aching heart."

Both Richards and Goyer urge parents to recognize the few "teachable moments" that the media's portrayal of teen pregnancy can offer. Both women say that movies like Lifetime TV's recent airing of "The Pregnancy Pact," based on the 17 Gloucester High School girls who set out to get pregnant, give families the opportunity to bring teen sexuality out into the open.

Even before the Guttmacher report was issued this week, teen pregnancy appeared to be creeping its way back into the national consciousness: A Milwaukee public service campaign recently bombarded teens with teasers for what looks like a horror movie called "2028" but is really a one-minute PSA about life as a teen mom.

The short film has all the production values of a slick thriller flick, but ends with a far scarier take on reality: "Get pregnant as a teen and the next 18 years could be the hardest years of your life."

But Planned Parenthood's Richards knows first-hand just how hard it is to open the communication gateways between parent and teen, but she urges families to use opportunities like the Milwaukee PSA campaign to do so.

"Look, as a mom I know it's difficult to talk with your kids about sex," she says. "It would be wonderful if there was a magic bullet. I would first say to other parents to take every opportunity to talk about relationships and sexual health. I would say to teens, talk with your parents or another trusted adult. It's so important that anyone who is considering becoming sexually active, of any age, has all the information needed to make responsible decisions."

Related: Talking with Children About Sex

ReaderComments (Page 5 of 9)

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1-31-2010 @ 10:51AM

Marshy said...

I agree. It's stupid to say abstinence only education is truly sex education. It's just the morality police, it's like going to church except there's not always religion involved, bringing me to my next point...

And many do believe these programs are religious. While the one I went to wasn't (well, I don't think it was), I've done research on these programs in public schools, looked at the material, and many did have a lot of Christian motives, such as how chastity makes you pure in God's eyes or some crap like that.

1-31-2010 @ 10:56AM

HelloSunshine said...

Woww! this is all such BS. Teen pregnancy mostly has to do with the teenager themselves. I'm not saying that talking to their parents or sex ed isn't helpful, what I'm saying is that it all boils down to the teens and the decision they make. I know this from personal experience because I myself am 16 years old and has abstained from sex. I've never had a father figure in my life because he left when i was 3 and my mom and i have never talked about sex. The only time the word sex has even come up in our house is when I brought home the paper for sex ed that she needed to sign. Yeah i have taken multiple sex ed classes but it's also all BS because what they talk about is abstinence and birth control and there is no teenager in America that doesn't know what birth control pills and condoms are. So it is pointless for the government to be wasting millions on giving high school students sex ed classes every year (maybe just one class is needed freshmen year). But if from taking one class doesn't get it through their brain that having sex increases your chance of getting stds and getting pregnant then I don't see why taking another 2 or 3 classes will because it repeats all the information. I think the most "influental" thing out there is the media and friends. Because in movies teens are having sex and there is no consequence and it may feel like peer pressure if all your friends are having sex and your not. But personally I still think it all boils down to teenagers themselves and whether or not they are stupid and ignorant. And all the love crap is stupid because if you guys are actually in love you can wait to have sex when you are able to support a child if you get pregnant.

1-31-2010 @ 11:19AM

Sex Ed CAN help. Yes, most teens know about condoms or BC pills, but do all of them know how to use them? And there are more forms of BC than just those two. Which I had to learn about from other sources, didn't know what a diaphragm was until less than a year ago. But you do have a point, in the end it boils down not to the morals parents taught, not the media, not peer pressure, but the teen. While those other things can have an effect, it's the teen who makes the decision.

For the record, abstinence only education doesn't necessarily cause teen pregnancy, but it doesn't do anything to stop or slow it. The whole bloody thing is futile, just wastes school time.

Also, just because sex can wait doesn't mean it should or that it has to. Just saying. I'm pretty annoyed by the "sex is evil!" mentality much of America seems to hold.

1-31-2010 @ 11:06AM

b26g116 said...

I was 16 when I had my son. At that time my husband and I had been together about a year and a half. I am now 22 and we have 3 children. I cared for my son, worked and paid for a sitter. I am a stay at home mother and very close with all my children. We are open parents, but we teach them morals. I ignored my morals and that is how I got pregnant, but I will never be relieved of the guilt I feel for having sex before we were married. I teach my children about what they need to know. I don't believe in lying to them for any reason. My parents didn't give me the time of day unless I was getting hit or being verbally abused. I am giving a different reality to my children. To the young mothers out there, I know it is hard, but that is what being a parent is about. You don't get all smiles and fun. You are in charge of a life that can learn to kill or learn to love. You are the difference in that childs life from who you allow to influence him/her to what you put on the table for dinner. I am very old fashioned or so my grandmother tells me, but I worked hard for my children. I got married in highschool and finished online with honors and the top 5% of my class. Mothers can do anything. You just have to be willing to work for it. As for the older mothers you need to talk to your daughters. Telling them you can get STD's isn't going to work. Use pictures and talk about your deepest feelings. You need something that is going to stick with them when they get into a situation like that. Your daughter/son isn't going to care unless you have a close bond and you brand the pictures into their heads. That still won't stop everyone, but it will make them think before they do. Girls and boys should also know birth control doesn't mean they won't get pregnant. I have 3 birth control babies to show for it. They are gifts from God, but if that gift is unaccepted in a family that is unwilling to forgive his/her mother it can be disasterous.

1-31-2010 @ 10:57AM

amusedeasily said...

Go to a local high school and just sit in the parking lot during dismissal. Look at the slutty, trampy clothes the girls are wearing, and in many cases, their Moms are wearing, too. Listen to their foul mouths, the absolute filth that comes through the lips of young women these days. Watch them hang on the boys,and yes, even hang on the male teachers.

Mothers are not teaching their daughters to be ladies, they are not teaching them hobbies and skills, they are not spending time with them encouraging them to excel in school and to have pride in themselves. The Moms and tv are stressing how they should look HOT. How to be Cool. Because so that's the goal of so many of themselves. And our girls are dieing inside of loneliness and self-worthlessness. So what's easily available and satisfying and connective to another human being? Sex. Shame shame on our mothers for allowing this to happen.

My husband and I worked full time but spent every moment I could with my son not just enjoying his company but teaching and training him to be a gentleman. I even remember sitting with him watching Judge Judy after school and talking to him about the show, showing him what happens when you have babies early. We taught him to treat women well, to be respectful and it's such a shame than when he opens a door for a young girl, she'll stop and look at him like he's nuts. They don't know how to receive respect and there is noone to blame but the parents.

1-31-2010 @ 11:02AM

I also have to respond to the claim that media may be responsible for teen pregnancies... No. When people say that, I feel insulted, it underestimates my intelligences. (most) Teens are not nearly as impressionable as everyone thinks. If that were the case, anyone who has seen an episode of Jackass would be dead, anyone who watched a Spider-man film would've died jumping off a building; you get what I mean. Teens have sex for other reasons, and the top reason is not what everyone seems to think: because they enjoy it. Not the media, not peer pressure, they do it the same reasons adults do it; enjoyment. Learn this. Accept this. Peer pressure does contribute but it's not the sole cause. Learn this. Accept this.

1-31-2010 @ 11:13AM

Yeah I do agree with you. I posted another comment when I realized I didn't say that. But media does contribute a lot to teen pregnancy. Have you ever watched One Tree Hill (earlier seasons when they were in high school) and Gossip Girl? Well pretty much in every episode someone is having sex without protection and basicly no one has ever gotten an unplanned pregnancy. Most teens look up to Brooke (One Tree Hill) and Serena and Blair (Gossip Girl). And about your whole Spider-man thing, that is a really bad comparison because what person in their right mind would jump off a building with out having a death wish or being mentally ill. But as you can see, shelves of Target, Wal-Mart, etc. are stock with Spider-Man toys. So apparently the media does play a big role in kids and teens lives.

1-31-2010 @ 10:58AM

george said...

I FEAL THE TEACHERS ARE TO STUPID TO TEACH SEX ED

1-31-2010 @ 11:04AM

And also if teenagers really loved their parents they wouldn't engage in sex at all until they know they can support a baby if they become pregnant because if the teen does become pregnant and decide to keep their child they know that their parents will have to take care of the baby. The parents already have enough too worry about without a baby that they don't even want, like work and bills. So if the teen truly loves their parents then they would sacrifice the pleasure of sex for the sake of their parents. Also if parents these days weren't such pushovers with no backbones they would lay down the rules and say like if you did get pregnant your getting kicked out of the house or take away anything of value to them (like their car, etc.)

1-31-2010 @ 11:16AM

Damien said...

The Guttmacher Institute recently released a report raising alarm over a one-year increase in teen pregnancy. “Safe sex” experts quickly pinned the blame on abstinence education.

This is a bit hypocritical. In the decade after the federal government began its meager funding of abstinence education, teen pregnancy fell steadily. Safe-sex experts never linked that decline to abstinence education. But when the news went bad, they swiftly identified abstinence programs as the culprit.

But did teen pregnancy actually rise in 2006, as Guttmacher claims? It depends on what you mean by “teen.” For most people, “teen pregnancy” implies pregnancy among high-schoolers, girls under age 18. According to Guttmacher’s own data, the pregnancy rate for 15- to 17-year-old girls barely changed, and the rate for girls 14 and under (the group most affected by abstinence programs) actually dropped.

By contrast, the pregnancy and birth rates for young adult women aged 18 and 19 rose sharply.

The rise in pregnancies and births in this age range is part of a much larger story: the collapse of marriage and explosive growth of out-of-wedlock births in lower income communities.

Between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of births outside of marriage rose from 32.4 percent to 39.7 percent of all births in the U.S. Very few of these non-marital births occurred to minor girls; most were to less-educated young adult women aged 18 to 26. Since non-married moms are less likely to postpone childbearing than those who patiently wait for marriage, it should be no surprise that the ongoing collapse of marriage in low-income communities would lead to a bump in the birth rate among 18- and 19-year-olds.

In the grand scheme of things, the issue of “teen” pregnancy is dwarfed by its much larger cousin, the disintegration of marriage. Marital collapse is a catastrophe for taxpayers and society; the welfare costs alone exceed $250 billion per year. As noted, little of this problem results from teenagers getting pregnant in high school. Of the 1.7 million children born out of wedlock in 2007 only 136,000 (or 7 percent) had mothers under age 18.

“Teen pregnancy” is largely a red herring, hyped by the Left because it supports their agenda of condom promotion and permissive sex ed in the schools. Of course, condom proselytizing is a bogus answer to real social problems. Contrary to conventional wisdom, lack of access to birth control is not a significant factor contributing to non-marital pregnancy among teens or non-teens.

Harvard sociologist Kathryn Edin recently conducted a survey of lower income men and women who had experienced (or, in the case of men, caused) one or more non-marital pregnancies. The survey asked whether the individuals had, ever in their lives, been in a situation where they wanted to use birth control, but could not afford it or could not obtain it. All answered no.

Many laughed at the suggestion that their pregnancies had been caused by a lack of access to contraceptives, noting that contraceptives are abundant and aggressively promoted by schools and clinics in their communities. Of all the non-marital pregnancies reported in the study, not one was caused by lack of availability of contraceptives.

The explosive rise in out-of-wedlock births is due not to a lack of contraceptives, but to a crisis in the relationships of young adult men and women in lower income communities. Couples no longer see the need to be married before having children, and they lack the skills to form stable relationships. Ironically, young non-married parents yearn for eventual stable marriages and healthy families, but they utterly lack the skills and understanding to fulfill their aspirations.

Another irony: One of the greatest sins of abstinence-education programs (in the Left’s view) has been their effort to teach low-income youth that it is best to marry before having children. This affront to political correctness has outraged the Left and has been a principal motivator behind the drive to remove abstinence education from the classroom.

Next year we can expect the out-of-wedlock childbearing rate to top 40 percent. A chilling number, but one which won’t affect the Left’s campaign to promote bogus issues and bogus solutions.

1-31-2010 @ 11:21AM

dmbellboy said...

pregnancy rate among 15- to 19-year-olds rose three percent in 2005-2006......

Hmmmm, so it's good to have studies done about social issues, but these babies are 5 to 6 years old now. Maybe, use that tax payers money you got for this study and do it in a year or less. A little more timely would go a lot further.
Just a thought...

1-31-2010 @ 11:12AM

JUST LOOK IN THE WHITE HOUSE THATS A PRODUCT OF THE NEW TEACHING TODAY???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

1-31-2010 @ 11:14AM

ayumanbean said...

Chene-I have seen that there are few people as mean and unforgiving as Christians. It is their way or the highway. In the old days it was their way or die. Not that much different today. I read about a mother who would treat daughter like this in her time of need and I think Christianity is more like Islam than they want to admit. Both religions are cruel to women and insist their bodies belongs to everyone but them. Nice choice Chene...my way or get out and suffer.

Beany456 said...

As an 18-year-old who's still a virgin by choice, I feel exremely saddened by this article. It makes me dissapointed to read that adults think it's surprising that teenagers aren't sexually active. Because of my faith, I don't believe in contraception, and support abstinence as the only option until marriage. I feel that the main problem here is not abstinence education, but a lack of parental guidance, which was really de-emphasized in this article. If children have agood foundation upon which to stand and are taught good morals and beliefs from an early age, they will soon realize for themselves how to live their lives in the best way possible. I feel that all of this talk about teen pregnancy and sex education debases teenagers and makes it seem like they are animals who can't control their "passions". We're capable of so much more! The main root lies in the parents. They need to be a comforting, sure, and strong presence in thier child's life, and set thier expectations high. The education systems also need to step up and do the same, reinforcing those high expectations, as well as teaching those children who have absent parents in an honest and kind way. You will soon see how we can rise to the occasion, if you believe in us, and not set us up for failure by giving us condoms and birth control. I've made the choice to stay a virgin, and even though it's not always easy, I know that when I look into my husband's eyes on my wedding day someday, I'll be so glad that I did what I did.

1-31-2010 @ 11:17AM

Oh and by the way, for those of you who think that promise rings are stupid, I've worn one since I was thirteen (that's five years!) and I think that it is a beautiful sign of love to my future husband. I'm loving my husband already, and I haven't even met him yet!

1-31-2010 @ 11:34AM

Fran said...

As a parent of a teen son, I have had "the talk" several times. I have talked so much about this topic that my son just says "I know" and doesn't want to talk about any more. I know when the time comes that he will be prepared (I have bought the condems for him). The only ones that can stop teenagers from having sex are the teenagers themselves. I don't think you can blame society or anything else. It is their choice to make. Parents can not be with their children 24/7. Good parents can instill morals into their children but have to let them learn on their own. They will anyway.

Lisette said...

A big contributing factor that no one has brought up is the influence of Hollywood and celebrities getting pregnant and having babies out of wedlock. Teenagers watch people like the Kardashian sisters, one sister getting married after dating someone for a month, and one sister gettting pregnant by a guy that she broke up with. She had the baby, did not get married, and everything is okay----so, kids think that they can get pregnant and everything will be okay, because that's how it is in Hollywood and in celebrities' lives. Angelina Jolie adopts and has children out of wedlock with Brad Pitt, and now they are breaking up---and everything is fine!! Kids do not have the mental capacity to think about everything involved with having a child----an 18 year commitment to raising the child, tens of thousands of dollars in formula, diapers, clothing, education. They have no idea that when a child is an infant, that they need to be fed every 2-3 hours, day and night, and that diapers have to be changed just as frequently. Do you know why? Because NONE OF THIS IS SPOKEN ABOUT BY THE CELEBRITIES!!! The celebrities don't complain abou thow much diapers or formula cost, because they can afford it---along with nannies, babysitters and other people to take care of their kids at night and while they are on vacation!! Kids don't see that part----unless they are, themselves, children in a privileged family that has money, that can afford child care and people to assist---they don't realize that a child is a 24/7 responsibility! No more going out with your friends, after-school sports and/or activities, and they can forget about having any type of boyfriend or girlfriend with a baby-----no other teenager is going to want to be with them!! If they are lucky, their parents will help them. They see celebrities on the covers of magazines with their babies born out of wedlock and think it's "cool". Plus---to teach kids abstinence is pretty much the most stupid thing anyone could do!! To ignore the fact that hormones are a REAL thing, and sex is something in life that is considered a "need", like food, water, shelter, etc., is like ignoring a big pink elephant in the living room!! If you teach kids about their hormones, those feelings, and what to do if and when they are put into a situation like that, it is much more effective than telling them and teaching them about abstinence!! If you approach it with the mind-set that "Yes, you WILL get pregnant if you don't use some sort of birth control", rather than "You might get pregnant if you have sex", it will change the mind-set of the teenagers!! You don't approach it as a "choice", or as an "if" situation or that it "might" happen----you approach it as a DEFINITE thing that will happen, and teach them about birth control. It is sort of like teaching them how to drive a car----there are no "choices" about doing the speed limit, or wearing a seat-belt, or driving on the right side of the road. There is a certain way you drive a car, and if you don't abide by the rules and laws, then you don't pass your road test and you don't drive!! If kids are taught that every single time they have sex, they'll get pregnant, then there is a greater chance that they will use birth control. The problem is that there used to be a stigma with getting pregnant, and there would be a sense of shame if they got pregnant----there is no stigma or shame anymore, because the celebrities who are getting knocked up left, right and center make it look like it is okay to do. When people pull their heads out of the sand, and come to the realization that teenagers ARE HAVING SEX and WILL HAVE SEX, and stop treating it like something they think they can control, then maybe the teen pregnancy rate will go down. Until then, and especially by preaching the "just don't do it", we will see teen pregnancy and STD rates continue to climb.

1-31-2010 @ 11:23AM

Kris said...

A couple of things -

First - I volunteered with Planned Parenthood as an abortion counselor. My job was to make sure they had considered their decision fully, we're not being coerced into having an abortion, and were aware of other options (including adoption). The next part of my job was to make a plan with them to prevent them from seeing us again. We did NOT want repeat business and I was known to have harsh words for people who were there for the second (or third or more) time. A plan was made for birth control, and if they said abstinence, it wasn't accepted as a 'plan'. Lastly, I was with them during the procedure if they wanted. (Most did.)

Second - When I was in the third grade, we started comprehensive sex ed. In third grade, boys and girls were separated and told about what would happen to their bodies at puberty. In fourth grade, separated again and told about what happens to the opposite sex at puberty. In fifth grade, we all sat together and learned exactly how babies were made and born. VERY EFFECTIVE!! And it wasn't 'too early'. The talks were purely educational with no heavy handed moralizing. It was treated the same way as learning the multiplication tables.

1-31-2010 @ 11:28AM

Becky said...

Do a search on Margaret Sanger (the woman who started Planned Parenthood) and you'll find that she started PP for the sole purpose of ridding society of minorities, especially blacks. You don't have to take my word for it.

1-31-2010 @ 11:31AM

Beany - I commend you for your choice. I do think it is a good one. But you also showed that you are aware of more than just abstinence as a possibility for preventing pregnancy. I would guess your parents talked with you. The problem is that so many young people do NOT have adults in their lives willing to give them all the facts and let them make a decision. By providing abstinence only education, they are not giving them any of the facts as to WHY abstinence is best, nor any tools to deal with the situation when abstinence isn't their choice.

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