Dep't. of Told You So: California teen births hit a record low

By GottaLaff

Here it comes, a king size portion of told you so:

Births to teen mothers in California reached a record low in 2008, according to new figures released Monday by the state Department of Public Health.

About 35 babies were born that year for every 1,000 teen females, nearly two fewer babies than the 2007 rate.

"This is absolutely phenomenal," said Norman Constantine, a senior scientist at the Oakland-based Public Health Institute and a clinical professor at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. "It's almost unbelievable at a time when the national rate continues to go up." [...]

The numbers also reveal a steep decline in the Latina teen birth rate. While figures for African Americans, whites, Asians and Pacific Islanders gradually declined between 2006 and 2008, the rate among Latina teens fell from 65 in 2006 to 56.9 in 2008.

Why the big fat "I told you so"? you may be asking. Because for years it's been drummed into our heads that the abstinence only policy was the single most effective way to reduce teen pregnancy. That's what conservatives insist is the way, the only way, to accomplish numbers like these.

Right?

Weaver attributed the improvement to state-supported teen-pregnancy prevention efforts, including family planning programs, comprehensive sex education and reproductive health services. [...]

Experts also lauded California for never having accepted federal dollars tied to abstinence-only funding. Weaver referred to California's approach as "abstinence plus."

Told you so.

Afternoon Zen

Photo Phun: Teen Pregnancy Barbie

By GottaLaff

Can Teen Pregnancy Bristol be far behind?

(enlarged-- no pun-- image here)

H/t: Rose

US births break record; 40 pct out-of-wedlock

Now I'm not an expert by any means, but two thing stand out about this. First, it doesn't really seem like Mr Bush's Abstinence Only program worked all that well, and secondly, look at the dip during the 90's. That would indicate a reduction in all pregnancies including unwed/teen ones. How 'bout them apples?

ATLANTA – Remember the baby boom? No, not the one after World War II. More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any other year in the nation's history — and a wedding band made increasingly little difference in the matter. The 4,317,119 births, reported by federal researchers Wednesday, topped a record first set in 1957 at the height of the baby boom.

Behind the number is both good and bad news. While it shows the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, a healthy trend, the teen birth rate was up for a second year in a row.

The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent, continuing a trend that started years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.

(snip)

Meanwhile, U.S. abortions dropped to their lowest levels in decades, according to other reports. Some have attributed the abortion decline to better use of contraceptives, but other experts have wondered if the rise in births might indicate a failure in proper use of contraceptives. Some earlier studies have shown declining availability of abortions.

In whose state is teen pregnancy rate rising fastest? Why, Sarah Palin's, of course

By GottaLaff

Grandma Palin should write a book titled, "Miss Stake: The Bountiful Bungles of a Beauty Queen". Here's an idea for the chapter that she might call, "Screwed":

The report also found that the teen pregnancy rate is rising fastest in Alaska, where Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is a strong proponent of abstinence-only sex ed.

Bristol Palin goes on the record: Teen pregnancy 'not ideal'

By GottaLaff

That Bristol. She has such a flair for stating the obvious:

In a statement dated Wednesday but posted on the Alaska governor's Web site Friday, Bristol says the pregnancy was "not ideal," but is thankful to have a family who supported her.

“Teenagers need to prevent pregnancy to begin with – this isn’t ideal. But I’m fortunate to have a supportive family which is dealing with this together," Bristol Palin said in the statement. "Tripp is so perfectly precious; we love him with all our hearts. I can’t imagine life without him now.”

What a relief. Could you imagine the uproar had she said, "I'm imagining life without Tripp all the time. He's such a pain in the butt. Life would be so, like, easier and such, if he had never been born. Also." (That last part would have been picked up from Grandma. Two peas, those two!)

That wouldn't have gone over well at all.

In the same statement, Gov. Palin said she at first greeted the news of her daughter's pregnancy with "fear and a bit of despair."

"Isn’t it just like God to turn those circumstances into such an amazing, joyful blessing when you ask Him to help you through?" she said in the statement.

It sure as shootin' is, Grandma. What a heckuva deity he turned out to be. Honestly, I don't know how in the Sam Hill God did it, turning the birth of an adorable, sweet infant into something joyful. Most people hate babies. How wonderful for you that you've learned to accept them, especially because they seem to be so prevalent in your little fam.

Now let's hope you all learn to accept birth control with the same ease and enthusiasm.