teen pregnancy

[MW0082]

There's no doubt that teen pregnancies are higher among black and Hispanic girls than among white girls. That's just the way it is and it's the way it's been since anybody started keeping statistics. In the case of live births, it's just a matter of compiling data from birth certificates. One of the reasons we have vital records is so health departments and government agencies can compile such statistics. And of course they can gather data in other ways, too.

You don't have to like Kathryn's explanation for the facts, but there's no doubt about what the facts are.

One of the interesting things, though, is that teen birthrates are higher for white girls in the Southeast than anywhere else. They're higher for Hispanic girls in the Southeast than anywhere else. They're higher for black girls in the Southeast and Upper Midwest than anywhere else.

Clearly, the Southeast has a problem. I took a look at the data for Mississippi. It's not a state that's friendly toward abortion; it still has an abortion ban in place that would take effect if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned. Counseling intended to discourage abortion is mandated, and there's a 24-hour waiting period, meaning women must make two trips -- one for the counseling session and another for the abortion. In the case of minors, both parents must consent, and in the case of state employees, insurance coverage is restricted or limited. There are only two abortion providers in the state, and 99% of Mississippi counties have no abortion provider.

So, since Mississippi hates abortion, you'd think Mississippi would encourage contraception. Not so. Mississippi allows anybody -- doctors, pharmacies, pharmacists, and any healthcare facility -- to deny contraceptive services, and state law requires sex education to stress abstinence.

It's a state where young girls are not encouraged to have information, contraception, or abortions. Of course the birth rate's going to be higher.

The question is, do black and Hispanic teens have more babies because of "cultural" factors (which is what Kathryn seems to think), or do they have more babies because they're concentrated in areas that aren't very friendly to sex education, contraception, or abortion? (Which is what I tend to think.)

I agree, but I am saying is it is not a cultural thing. it is a poor thing. these communities do not have the resources others do. So of course they will have a higher rate oif teen pregnancy, but again it is not cultural oriented....

 

[Smoke]

LOL, yes because every American ALWAYS fills out the Census and tells the truth correct? LOL

The Census Bureau gathers information through many different means, and their statistics agree with the CDC and the National Center for Health Statistics. There's really not any doubt about it. As I said, government agencies have ready access to the data; it's just a matter of compiling it.

 

[Smoke]

I agree, but I am saying is it is not a cultural thing. it is a poor thing. these communities do not have the resources others do. So of course they will have a higher rate oif teen pregnancy, but again it is not cultural oriented....

I've known a lot of black, white, and Hispanic families, and I've never known parents who encouraged teens to be sexually active, and I've never known parents who were anything but upset to learn that their teenaged daughter was pregnant. Yeah, you accept what you have to accept, but I don't think it's true that teen pregnancy is an accepted part of the values of African-Americans or Hispanics at all -- at least, not outside of marriage.

 

[MW0082]

I've known a lot of black, white, and Hispanic families, and I've never known parents who encouraged teens to be sexually active, and I've never known parents who were anything but upset to learn that their teenaged daughter was pregnant. Yeah, you accept what you have to accept, but I don't think it's true that teen pregnancy is an accepted part of the values of African-Americans or Hispanics at all -- at least, not outside of marriage.

And that is what I was trying to say, is that it was much deeper than just the stats she was posting.....

 

[Kathryn]

The question is, do black and Hispanic teens have more babies because of "cultural" factors (which is what Kathryn seems to think), or do they have more babies because they're concentrated in areas that aren't very friendly to sex education, contraception, or abortion? (Which is what I tend to think.)

Good post, Smoke. I want to speak for myself on this one point, however.

Yes, I do think that certain subcultures have a higher rate of teen pregnancy because of, err, CULTURAL norms and values. But those norms and values INCLUDE a lack of respect or emphasis on proper, practical sex education and available options (though the black abortion rate is the highest out of black, white and hispanic US teens), and they also include religious factors - as well as poverty, education in general, health (including mental and emotional health) crime rates, you name it.

The question posed by the OP was basically "Do fundamentalist religious beliefs cause higher teen pregancy rates?" even though the stats actually presented in the OP didn't discuss pregnancy rates, just birth rates.

My position is that that's too simplistic an approach. Along the lines of saying, "Oilfield work causes lung cancer" because oilfield workers have a higher rate of lung cancer - when in reality, they smoke at a higher rate than the general public.

 

[Autodidact]

The problem is obvious. Heterosexuality.

 

[jumpingjoy]

'Thou shalt not' is often seen as the green light to go ahead!