[NYTr] Abstinence-Only a miserable failure: Teen birth rate jumps - first time in 14 years

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AP - Dec 5, 2007
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TEEN_BIRTHS?SITE=VOICESD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Report: US Teen Birth Rate on the Rise

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer

 ATLANTA (AP) -- The nation's teen birth rate has risen for the first
time in 14 years, according to a new government report.

The birth rate had been dropping since 1991. The decline had slowed in
recent years, but government statisticians said Wednesday it jumped 3
percent from 2005 to 2006.

"It took us by surprise," said Stephanie Ventura of the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, a co-author of the report.

The birth data for 2006 also showed births to unmarried mothers hit a
new record high, and the overall birth rate has climbed to its highest
level since 1971.

The teen increase was based on the 15-19 age group, which accounted for
about 99 percent of the more than 440,000 births to teens in 2006.

The rate rose to 41.9 live births per 1,000 females in that age group,
up from 40.5 in 2005.

© 2007 The Associated Press.