Fewer U.S. teens are getting pregnant: study

[ismnotwasm]

Interesting article, although I don't find it particularly well written, almost as though the author had to revise a thing or two.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1437533220080414
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"The report found that nearly 38 percent of pregnancies in 2004 were to women under the age of 25, which is down from nearly 43 percent in 1990.

Just 12 percent of all pregnancies were to teenagers, compared to 15 percent in 1990.

Overall, there were almost 6.4 million pregnancies in 2004 among U.S. women of all ages, down 6 percent from 1990.

Out of these pregnancies, 4.11 million babies were born. There were 1.22 million abortions and 1.06 million stillbirths and miscarriages. That means 64 percent of all pregnancies resulted in a live birth."

Interesting statistics. Nearly as many stillbirths and miscarriages as abortions. The problem with this stat is women may be have a miscarriage during a heavy period and just not know it. I don't want anything more happen to our right to choose. Can you see the "miscarriage police" around the next corner? I can.
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This next one, why does contraceptive failure need to be in parenthesis here? Maybe I'm just paranoid--

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There are large racial disparities in most of these measures," Ventura said.
There are two possible reasons for this, the report found.
"First, non-Hispanic black women were less likely to use a contraceptive method at first intercourse and currently than white women," the researchers wrote.
Second, blacks had double the rate of "contraceptive failure" compared to whites.

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[bliss_eternal]

1. Thanks for posting this...

...I hope this is true. I had heard (don't recall where, though) that teen pregnancy rates are on the rise--based on all the ridiculous funding cuts to pro-choice organizations (and of course the right wing push of "abstinence only education"). :shrug:

Since the article was poorly written, I'm also inclined to question the statistics offered. For example, where is he/she getting the stat about black and hispanic women having double rates of contraceptive failure? Is this really an issue of race, or is it based on socioeconomic factors (that may also include low-income caucasian women)?

I'm wondering if they are basing this on women of color using over the counter contraceptives, as opposed to birth control pills--which would be less available to women with limited access to health care. But if this is the case, again--low income caucasian women are also prone to "contraception failure."

I've met (and known)quite a few "spermicidal foam parents" in my lifetime, and they aren't all people of color. ;)