By GottaLaff
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.
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