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Teen Birth Rate Continued to Decline in 2002 12/10/2003 The 11-year downward trend is welcome news, but continued success calls for more programs of abstinence education.
Preliminary data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that the teen birth rate declined again in 2002, continuing a welcome, downward trend that began in 1991.
The 2002 birth rate of 42.9 births per 1000 for females aged 15-19 is 31 percent lower than the 1991 rate, and the rate of 72.7 percent for females aged 18-19 indicates a 23 percent decline, according to a report by the research organization Child Trends, which says the rates are at "historic lows."
The decrease in births is not because of abortion. The abortion rate among teens has also been declining.
Supporters of condom-based sex education, such as Planned Parenthood, point to contraceptive use as reason for the declining birth rate. However, pro-abstinence leaders disagree.
"Contraceptives have been easily accessible for 30 years. It wasn’t until the promotion of abstinence that we saw a decrease in teen birth rates and abortions," says Wendy Wright, senior policy director for Concerned Women for America.
"While Planned Parenthood and others who profit from contraceptives and abortion try to claim credit, the numbers point to abstinence as the only logical answer."
Abstinence programs encourage and equip young people to refrain from sex until marriage. They teach about the link between multiple sexual partners and sexually transmitted diseases, build a foundation of character and values, and stress the importance of marriage.
Indeed, the Child Trends data show specific trends that apparently reflect abstinence principles. From 1991-2001, high school students who reported ever having sexual intercourse declined from 54 to 46 percent, and those who had four or more lifetime partners dropped from 19 to 14 percent.
While concerned citizens can appreciate the declining rate of births to teen mothers, teen-age sexual activity continues to raise serious matters.
"The teen birth rate, along with STDs [sexually transmitted diseases], abortion and teen sexual activity rates, remains too high," Wright says. "Much more needs to be done to promote abstinence, as it is the only prevention from the physical and emotional costs to engaging in sex outside of marriage."
Indeed, 18 percent of girls currently 15 years old will give birth before they reach age 20. In addition, 80 percent of teen births occur outside of marriage. This is because fewer unwed, pregnant teens marry before they give birth.
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