Teen Pregnancy

Teenage birth rates continue to decline in the United States. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that the teen pregnancy rate fell 27 percent between 1990 and 2000. In 2004, the teenage birth rate was 33 percent lower than the rate in 1991. Although the United States is experiencing a decline in teenage pregnancies and teenage births, concerns about teen sexual activity remain. More than 415,000 babies were born to teens in 2004 and more than 80 percent of these births were to unmarried teens.

Significant economic and social consequences emanate from teen sexual activity. The price of teenage sexual activity and non-marital childbearing is costly for teens, their families, their communities, and society. A child born to unmarried parents is at an increased risk for growing up without a father. According to the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), this is associated with an increased risk for several negative outcomes.

Children who live absent their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents. For this and many other reasons, the NFI supports the promotion of abstinence-until-marriage for the sake of children.