alaska’s numbers are up 19%
and i don’t mean tourism. we talked about teen pregnancy once or twice (ok it was three times) last year and apparently we had good reason–the teen pregnancy rate is up* in 26 states according to researchers at the national center for health statistics (nchs). before you say big deal because it’s only half the country consider what paul sutton, nchs demographer says: “to see 26 states with statistically significant increases is fairly remarkable…we’re seeing increases in both the number of teens having births and also the rate at which they are having births. both of them are going up.”
it will be difficult to figure out why the rates are increasing. some blame the sexed-up culture and our acceptance of single mama’s (i know one person who thinks single motherhood is the root of society’s evils). some blame it on the abstinence only sex education programs that don’t discuss birth control.
if you’re interested in finding out how your state fared compared to alaska, check out the interactive map accompanying the article.
* 2006 data compared to 2005 data
photo courtesy of ergo martini
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