Higher rates of teen births in religious states
Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9:33AM It may be a sensationalistic title, but there seems to be a correlation between teen birth rates and the adherence to religious beliefs in the US.
However, the results don't say anything about cause and effect, though study researcher Joseph Strayhorn of Drexel University College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh offers a speculation of the most probable explanation: "We conjecture that religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging the use of contraception among their teenagers than they are in discouraging sexual intercourse itself."
Of course, it is difficult, if not impossible, to correlate statistically the ties between staunch religious adherence to teen birth rates, hence the researchers have included all the caveats they can with their report. However, the implications are clear as day, and further reinforces my opinion that if we can't stop them, and it's about time we admitted that as a problem, we at least equip them with the knowledge that can prevent unwanted pregnancies from happening.
This accomplishes more than just preventing unplanned pregnancies. It also affects rates of sexually-transmitted infections, and impacts abortion rates, regardless of ease of access to abortions. I'm hard-pressed to come up with reasons, beyond those based on religious beliefs, that this should not be a part of youth education. If anyone can come up with any, I'd welcome your comments.
sex, sex education, teenagers in Education, Religion, United States
Reader Comments (1)
So, as it turns out, closing your eyes to the possibility of a sexually charged world and hiding under the 'Its a sin' blanket didn't work...go figure. Its called being human, we like sex, we want sex, we have sex... if we are educated in options instead of the 'just say no' school of physical love... lives could be saved by avoiding STD's, unwanted pregnancies and abortions avoided, and children would not need not be brought into a world that is ill prepared to care for them in a responsible way. But, what do I know... my religion doesn't condemn physical love and pleasure.