The United States has made remarkable progress in reducing both teen pregnancy and racial and ethnic differences, but the reality is, too many American teens are still having babies.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
If we as a nation are to break the cycle of poverty, crime and the growing underclass of young people ill equipped to be productive citizens, we need to not only implement effective programs to prevent teen pregnancy, but we must also help those who have already given birth so that they become effective, nurturing, bonding parents.
I'm so fascinated by the concept of teen pregnancy for some reason. Not that I condone it or promote it, but it's just a very real thing in our country and culture.
In 2013, 71 percent of black children in America were born to an unwed mother, as were 53 percent of Hispanic children and 36 percent of white children. Indeed, a single parent is the new norm.
It's about time we make the well-being of our young people more important than ideology and politics. As a country, we benefit from investing in their future by investing in teen pregnancy prevention.
We must begin to shift the emphasis of teen-age pregnancy to teen-age boys.
Let us develop an agenda for children that says we can do something about teen pregnancy. Let us make sure that parents are old enough, wise enough, and financially able to take care of their children.
Teen pregnancy went way down in the '90s, and 75 percent of it was because of increased use of contraception.
We in the West do not refrain from childbirth because we are concerned about the population explosion or because we feel we cannot afford children, but because we do not like children.
There is a bigger plan for us. There is some reason we haven't had a kid. Our kid hasn't come yet for some reason. We really believe that.
Most people, almost everyone knows of a teen mom. Teen pregnancy rates are growing, and we need to bring awareness to that.