Forget that “it” handbag, those coveted shoes, or designer belt you’ve been eyeing, it seems the new accessory among the celebrity set these days is the glow of pregnancy. Everyone from Angelina Jolie to Jamie Lynn Spears, and most recently Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter are popping up pregnant and reveling in motherhood. With 2007s independent hit “Juno,” an endearing dramedy about a reluctant teenage pregnancy and the hardships involved facing adoption, there have been more Juno’s in recent years than hush-hush clinic appointments, a new study reports.
The Guttmacher Institute, founded in 1968 as The Center for Family Planning Program Development, uses public education, social science research and policy analysis to teach and encourage sexual and reproductive health. Combined studies by the institute and collected data records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the abortion rate from 1974-2004 has dropped 33 percent from an average 29 per 1,000 women ages 15-44 to 20 per 1,000 women in recent years. Their new study finds that the abortion rate among teens has dropped 50 percent while the abortion rate among 20 and 30 year olds has increased. This change has taken place over the past 30 years since Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, and the demographics have shifted substantially.
A senior researcher from the Guttmacher Institute, Rachel Jones comments about the US demographic having abortions nowadays, "They are older, they are more likely to be unmarried, more likely to be mothers, and they are more likely to be women of color." Jones continues that they are more likely to come from a low income household as well, "We know from other research that having lower income makes a woman more likely to get an abortion. Women of color tend to be lower-income, and so in turn when confronted with an unintended pregnancy are more likely to have an abortion," she said.
The good news is that teen abortions have steadily declined over the last three decades but when one number lowers another is sure to rise and the rate of abortions among older women in their 20s and 30s has increased. Even though rates of abortion have declined over all demographics, there is still a large discrepancy among certain ethnic groups. Researchers found that Hispanic and black women were three to five times more likely to have an abortion than white women.
Jones accredits these findings to furthering sexual education and promoting contraceptive use in schools. "We've made the most important progress in reducing teen pregnancy and abortion rate, [rather] than reducing unintended pregnancy in older women.”
While education in schools has been successful in raising awareness and lowering teen pregnancy and the teenage abortion rate, once girls hit their early-20s there isn’t much left to educate them with, but the numbers are still rising. The institute points the finger of blame at a financial burden for the rise of abortions among older women. If women don’t have access to proper insurance coverage, unplanned pregnancies are more than likely to result because of improper precautions. The study, although praising lower numbers and better educational support, ended with a new goal: to unearth a new investigation into the socioeconomic gap in health care.
Planned Parenthood’s Laurie Rubiner, vice president of public policy says, "When you don't have access to affordable birth control, rates of unintended pregnancy are going to be higher. That's a sad and real-life consequence of the health insurance gap." I was under the impression that providing confidential health care and sexual and reproductive information to people regardless of insurance was the main goal and cause of Planned Parenthood’s success for the last 90 years. Planned Parenthood’s website recites its services as, “Planned Parenthood is America’s most trusted provider of reproductive health care. Our skilled health care professionals are dedicated to offering men, women, and teens the highest quality medical care and the most affordable products.” Whatever the reasons, we may never be able to close the gap completely between affordable health care and lower income families but we can encourage better information and educational references for older women and hope for lower numbers in the future.
With celebrity’s babies making up most of today’s headlines, the negative stigma of pregnancy is gone and has been replaced with organic baby products, natural baby food recipes, and an influx of celebrities taking time off to be parents. It seems that pregnant teens nowadays have realized that the positive attention is put on those who have the privilege of being a parent, even in a world where marriages aren’t guaranteed and money isn’t always flowing—that pair of Louboutin’s can wait.
Hmm. So many thoughts and opinions just from reading this article. What do you think? Is it possible to be a successful teen parent?
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