Teen pregnancy rate a legitimate concern
A 14-year-old mother doesn’t have much of a chance when it comes to raising a child.
When the mother is not much more than a child herself – in all likelihood still living with her parents or at least one of them – it’s easy to see the formula for disaster when pregnancy is concerned.
That’s exactly why health educators are preaching abstinence as the best means of birth control. It’s impossible to argue with that logic.
If the goal is to avoid teen pregnancy, the most successfully, sure-fire way to accomplish that goal is by getting teen-agers to abstain from having sexual intercourse. No other method will produce as favorable results.
Reducing teen pregnancy is one of the state’s, and one of Warren County’s, most pressing issues. Just look at the pregnancy numbers for girls – not women – in this county.
For every 1,000 girls in Warren County, 21 will become pregnant between the ages of 10 and 17. That might not seem like such a glaring statistic but it’s easy to see the ramifications for this generation and the next.
It’s fair to say the vast majority of girls between the age of 10 and 17 don’t have the means to support themselves. Probably most are still living at home and hopefully most are still in school.
Without performing too much investigative work, it’s easy to see where the burden for raising the child will fall. Sure the teen-age mother will have to shoulder added responsibility, along with hopefully the father.
But a good deal of added pressure will no doubt be exerted on the teen mother’s parents. It’s those parents who will most likely have to foot the majority of the bills when a 14-year-old becomes pregnant.
It also begs the question about what kind of upbringing is in store for the newborn child when his or her mother hasn’t even graduated high school? It also brings to the fore the limits which will be placed on the teen-age mom.
Will she be able to jaunt off to college and live the care-free life most college students enjoy? No. Will she be able to find herself a quality job because of this? There’s a good chance she won’t.
That’s not even mentioning the added pressures put on the fathers, many of whom pass up educational opportunities to go to work so they can pay baby-related bills.
Simply put, when a child gets pregnant and is forced to have a baby, it’s a no-win situation. And the only 100 percent guaranteed way to prevent teen pregnancy is to stop teen-age sex.
Our children should realize it’s OK to say no. When considering the options, a few minutes of pleasure can be replaced by a lifetime of extra burdens.