1/3 of Teen Moms were ignorant of pregnancy chances

[Foxi4]

I don't think it's all a matter of sex ed - 20-30 years ago a sex ed program would meet massive protests for whatever stupid reason and yet teen pregnancy was not an issue. Those girls knew exactly what they were doing, they all attended biology and apparently knew how to work with the tools provided. Now they reap consequences, and good for them. It's not the end of the world to become a teen mom, we're not in the 19th century. If you want to blame someone for overly propagating sex among audiences which are not ready for treating the matter seriously, blame the internet, the media, hollywood. Those girls are not "unaware" of the possible inclinations of unsafe sex - they are oblivious towards them because they are too young to think the issue through responsibly. I started off at 16, 7 years later and no baby at all. Why? Because I took the time to think for a sec before doing something that may potentially cause my life to turn upside-down. I don't buy the "sudden epidemy of stupid" excuse, it's ignorance that's the root of the problem.

 

[mysticwaterfall]

I don't think stepping up education would reduce teen pregnancy that much really. Teenagers in general (and to be fair, a good portion of adults ) have the "it can't happen to
me" syndrome in regards to life.

 

[Veho]

teen pregnancy was not an issue

[citation needed]

 

[Hop2089]

Well the problem is that teens that didn't just get them from some one night stand often want a baby so they can have attention from their family, boyfriend, or society in general at the worst but don't realize that after the baby is born they have a stressful life with a young newborn to take care of 24/7 and they crack or wish they never has the baby in the first. If you want a baby, wait until you finished High school at the least, and if you aren't worried about or don't want one use protection.

 

[Foxi4]

teen pregnancy was not an issue

[citation needed]

If you want to create a counter-argument then it's your job to check the statistics and prove me wrong. Your response was not witty, it was ignorant. I expected more of you. Usually you have more sensible arguments.

 

[exangel]

I think the only thing that could possibly make a significant change is role models stronger than hollywood & american media.
Unfortunately, there isn't money to be made by mentoring. And only urban areas even have youth centers where it's easy for adults to take on that role outside of religious organization.

 

[Koumori_Knight]

1/3 of Teen Moms were ignorant slutts

Personally I feel this illustrates the importance of providing sufficient sex education to young people.

Nonsense, sexual education only promotes promiscuity. We should keep not teaching kids anything and then call them ignorant sluts.

[/sarcasm]

Name calling and sarcasm gets people nowhere in this particular situation, try and remember that these girls lives are now completely wrecked because of their parents imposing ignorance on them.
I do agree with veho on this though, I just think we should be nicer about it. Sarcasm only makes the willfully ignorant, bible-beating, sex denying, freedom squelching, very damn loud minority of christians cling closer to their beliefs. It would be rather interesting to see how many of that ignorant 1/3 ccame from conservative christian families, or other religious order, I would be willing to bet 90% if not all.
The issue that I see is that the moderate and reasonable christian people(the majority) who actually want their sons and daughters to be protected are not nearly loud enough--because they are moderate and reasonable people!
The thing is, this statistic probably won't change much, It doesnt seem that the people who preach ignorance actually want to take anything resembling responsibility for the results of their ignorance.

This is a very dire issue though as it is not just about peoples health, it is about womens rights and mens rights, obviously me being a man--I can't address the womens rights aspect of things, but I really dont want to have to deal with ferral kids raised by kids.
I must digress before I froth at the mouth though.

To me this is an issue with a simple cause and a difficult fix.
The cause is a family unit that is inherently broken. These girls not only lack proper risk education, but they lack proper emotional foundations. Why else would anyone just jump into bed on a first date with no protection, either they understand the risks and don't care or they don't understand the risks and don't understand the emotional baggage that goes with sex.
This is more of a side note here but it warrants mentioning here, I think.
If their families made both the boys and the girls involved feel loved and accepted, then I strongly doubt that they would be having sex in the ways that they do. Because of the lack of emotional well being inside the family, they seek this feeling the only way they know how. Sex. Because they lack eduaction, they engage in risky, unproteted sex. Because they are young and stupid they think nothing will happen but unicorns and rainbows, Because they don't get what they are looking for they do it again.

 

[Veho]

If you want to create a counter-argument then it's your job to check the statistics and prove me wrong. Your response was not witty, it was ignorant. I expected more of you. Usually you have more sensible arguments.

No. If you're going to use that as an argument it is your job to give us statistics to support your point. Until you do it's nothing but blather. Burden of proof and all that. Until you provide some numbers and sources to support your claims, it is safe to assume you're pulling stuff out of your ass. My reply should have been counterpoint enough to anyone capable of rational thought and not merely knee-jerk reactions, but it seems I have to elaborate after all. I do admit my reply leaves a bit to be desired, so I shall amend it:


Bullshit, [citation needed].


But here, let me provide some statistics:

The teenage birth rate in United States was 53 births per 1,000 women aged 15–19 in 2002, the highest in the developed world. If all pregnancies, including those that end in abortion or miscarriage, are taken into account, the total rate in 2000 was 75.4 pregnancies per 1,000 girls. Over 80% of teenage pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended;

[...]

However, the trend is decreasing: in 1990, the birth rate was 61.8, and the pregnancy rate 116.9 per thousand. This decline has manifested across all racial groups

SOURCE


There, I showed you mine. Now show me yours. Or, to put it succinctly, [citation needed]. Provide it.

 

[Foxi4]

If you want to create a counter-argument then it's your job to check the statistics and prove me wrong. Your response was not witty, it was ignorant. I expected more of you. Usually you have more sensible arguments.

No. If you're going to use that as an argument it is your job to give us statistics to support your point. Until you do it's nothing but blather. Burden of proof and all that. Until you provide some numbers and sources to support your claims, it is safe to assume you're pulling stuff out of your ass. My reply should have been counterpoint enough to anyone capable of rational thought and not merely knee-jerk reactions, but it seems I have to elaborate after all. I do admit my reply leaves a bit to be desired, so I shall amend it:


Bullshit, [citation needed].


But here, let me provide some statistics:

The teenage birth rate in United States was 53 births per 1,000 women aged 15–19 in 2002, the highest in the developed world. If all pregnancies, including those that end in abortion or miscarriage, are taken into account, the total rate in 2000 was 75.4 pregnancies per 1,000 girls. Over 80% of teenage pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended;

[...]

However, the trend is decreasing: in 1990, the birth rate was 61.8, and the pregnancy rate 116.9 per thousand. This decline has manifested across all racial groups

SOURCE


There, I showed you mine. Now show me yours. Or, to put it succinctly, [citation needed]. Provide it.

Statistical increase of teen birthrates in nearly all states between 1980 and 1990.

In most states, birth rates increased from 1980 to 1990 because declines in abortion rates generally exceeded those of pregnancy rates. Birth rates significantly declined in 13 states ***; in eight of these states, the decrease was more than 10%. In contrast, birth rates increased significantly in 29 states and in DC. Rates in 20 areas increased more than 10%; of these, rates in nine increased more than 20%. Reported by: Behavioral Epidemiology and Demographic Research Br, Statistics and Computer Resources Br, Women's Health and Fertility Br, Div of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Natality, Marriage, and Divorce Statistics Br, Div of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.

Small declines in pregnancy and birth rates during the early 1980s subsequently reversed, resulting in little net change in the U.S. teenage pregnancy rate over the decade (1,5). From 1986 through 1990, the U.S. birth rate increased nearly 20%, suggesting that a larger proportion of teenage pregnancies resulted in live births.

Source: CDC.Gov

I admit that there has been a *massive* decline from the all-time high of 1990, starting off from about the year 2000, however, I was reffering to the time 20-30 years ago, from which, until the year 2000, teen pregnancy rates were only rising. That would be the time between 1982 and 1992.

By the way, you're being a bit rude.

 

[exangel]

By the way, you're being a bit rude.

His response was no more rude than you calling his response ignorant. I agreed with other things you said prior to this bickering though, fwiw.

 

[Foxi4]

By the way, you're being a bit rude.

His response was no more rude than you calling his response ignorant. I agreed with other things you said prior to this bickering though, fwiw.

Fine. I'll be good now. *nods apologetically*

 

[exangel]

Name calling and sarcasm gets people nowhere in this particular situation, try and remember that these girls lives are now completely wrecked because of their parents imposing ignorance on them.
I do agree with veho on this though, I just think we should be nicer about it. Sarcasm only makes the willfully ignorant, bible-beating, sex denying, freedom squelching, very damn loud minority of christians cling closer to their beliefs. It would be rather interesting to see how many of that ignorant 1/3 ccame from conservative christian families, or other religious order, I would be willing to bet 90% if not all.
The issue that I see is that the moderate and reasonable christian people(the majority) who actually want their sons and daughters to be protected are not nearly loud enough--because they are moderate and reasonable people!
The thing is, this statistic probably won't change much, It doesnt seem that the people who preach ignorance actually want to take anything resembling responsibility for the results of their ignorance.

This is a very dire issue though as it is not just about peoples health, it is about womens rights and mens rights, obviously me being a man--I can't address the womens rights aspect of things, but I really dont want to have to deal with ferral kids raised by kids.
I must digress before I froth at the mouth though.

To me this is an issue with a simple cause and a difficult fix.
The cause is a family unit that is inherently broken. These girls not only lack proper risk education, but they lack proper emotional foundations. Why else would anyone just jump into bed on a first date with no protection, either they understand the risks and don't care or they don't understand the risks and don't understand the emotional baggage that goes with sex.
This is more of a side note here but it warrants mentioning here, I think.
If their families made both the boys and the girls involved feel loved and accepted, then I strongly doubt that they would be having sex in the ways that they do. Because of the lack of emotional well being inside the family, they seek this feeling the only way they know how. Sex. Because they lack eduaction, they engage in risky, unproteted sex. Because they are young and stupid they think nothing will happen but unicorns and rainbows, Because they don't get what they are looking for they do it again.

Precisely my point about the need for more adult advocates outside of religious institution & school, such as youth center counselors who get either Nothing but the Reward of Mentoring, or if they are lucky, a piecemeal stipend for their work with youth. The Ad council (pretty much the only way to get non corporate "sponsored" Public Service Announcements) is limited just as is all public service is, financially -- it'd take a powerful movement to get "communities" to fight for kids.
Especially since there are a lot of conflicts, even potential legal ones, for adults to give advise regarding risky behaviors if they don't have certification (such as Psychologists & Child Advocate caseworkers). Background checks would help.. but there will never be enough because many childless adults have no kids as a matter of choice.
And most adults with kids have their own responsibilities..

Urban areas, as I mentioned before, oftentimes get the benefit of developing outreach programs.. but that is by no means where most of the problem lies.

 

[BlueStar]

I don't think it's all a matter of sex ed - 20-30 years ago a sex ed program would meet massive protests for whatever stupid reason and yet teen pregnancy was not an issue.

Yes it was - and even further back than that. Like many things that are seemingly modern issues, such as child abuse, it was just covered up out of shame. The pregnant unmarried mother would be hidden away until birth, her mother would claim it was her child and they'd live as sisters.

You can argue about it being less common, but you can't pretend it simply wasn't an issue.

 

[Foxi4]

I don't think it's all a matter of sex ed - 20-30 years ago a sex ed program would meet massive protests for whatever stupid reason and yet teen pregnancy was not an issue.

Yes it was - and even further back than that. Like many things that are seemingly modern issues, such as child abuse, it was just covered up out of shame. The pregnant unmarried mother would be hidden away until birth, her mother would claim it was her child and they'd live as sisters.

You can argue about it being less common, but you can't pretend it simply wasn't an issue.

"Less of an issue" then. Obviously America has the highest teen pregnancy rate in "civilized countries", but the issue was admittedly less apparent.

 

[Apex]

It was a good long while ago, but I'm pretty sure I learned in elementary school that if you have sex with out a condom, the girl will likely get pregnant. I don't put it passed national stupidity for that to degrade to 'duuurrr sex is bad don't do it you die of disease jesus angry', but I would assume that it would be common sense. I also agree Hells Malice, that they are morons.

I still blame society for painting in the image that no one NEEDS to take any bit of responsibility for their actions. Spill your coffee? McDonald's fault, kill someone? It's temporary insanity's fault, get pregnant? It's the schools fault.

 

[Thesolcity]

It was a good long while ago, but I'm pretty sure I learned in elementary school that if you have sex with out a condom, the girl will likely get pregnant. I don't put it passed national stupidity for that to degrade to 'duuurrr sex is bad don't do it you die of disease jesus angry', but I would assume that it would be common sense. I also agree Hells Malice, that they are morons.

I still blame society for painting in the image that no one NEEDS to take any bit of responsibility for their actions. Spill your coffee? McDonald's fault, kill someone? It's temporary insanity's fault, get pregnant? It's the schools fault.

Welcome to America, where the blame depends on who/where you decide to pin it.

 

[sputnix]

It was a good long while ago, but I'm pretty sure I learned in elementary school that if you have sex with out a condom, the girl will likely get pregnant. I don't put it passed national stupidity for that to degrade to 'duuurrr sex is bad don't do it you die of disease jesus angry', but I would assume that it would be common sense. I also agree Hells Malice, that they are morons.

I still blame society for painting in the image that no one NEEDS to take any bit of responsibility for their actions. Spill your coffee? McDonald's fault, kill someone? It's temporary insanity's fault, get pregnant? It's the schools fault.

Welcome to America, where the blame depends on who/where you decide to pin it.

[yt]MeXQBHLIPcw[/yt]
Ironically many of the things he sings about are actually cases [thought the song fit]
anywho not sure how the public schools in the states works with sex ed, of course I'm not sure about public schools in canada as I went to a private Christian school while they did teach and pushed amnesty over safe sex they still spoke about the dangers of sex, I think the problem is that in my case it was done at grade 6, which is OK but it should also be done again when your older and more mature [and not going "she said PENIS LOL"]

 

[RchUncleSkeleton]

You can't really blame the education system for this, there's plenty of info out there.
These girls were just plain sluts and wanted to have an excuse or put the blame elsewhere.

I remember Sex Ed in 5th grade! Plus you have Health as a freshman in Highschool,
there's no excuse at all for this.

I swear idiots breed faster than bunnies!

 

[Pong20302000]

easy way to solve this

take a IQ test,
if they get below a certain number they get unthanised
men and women

that will sort it out

 

[Thesolcity]

easy way to solve this

take a IQ test,
if they get below a certain number they get unthanised
men and women

that will sort it out

But how will the US build up its low intelligence labor class? ;o;