The Pros And Cons Of Teen Pregnancy In Texas

One community member, Jay Coffelt, is a long-term resident of Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri. Jay is passionate about researching and awareness of issues like teen pregnancy at the county, state, and national levels. Although not directly involved as a parent of a pregnant teen and not being a teen himself, Mr. Coffelt’s community passion is beneficial in providing insight to the level of community empowerment present in Jackson County, Missouri with regards to a major health issue like teen pregnancy. From a community members’ perspective, it was noted that there seems to be a lack of resources available to pregnant teens and their families as well as a lack of ways community members can be involved in the issue. When asked about his ability to participate in decision making regarding teen pregnancy or to attend forums discussing teen pregnancy, Mr. Coffelt was unsure if those resources were available to him. Another important finding from Mr. Coffelt’s interview was the frequent comparisons he made to an adjacent county in Kansas. Having lived in both counties, Mr. Coffelt was able to recall more available resources, awareness, and guidance for teen health and community members in the adjacent Kansas county compared to Jackson County in Missouri. Through the interview, it was determined that Mr. Coffelt felt an increased level of empowerment. According to Clark, “...empowered individuals gain new skills and power to influence others and to affect the outcomes of

Texas has a long history of conflict with the federal government over laws and policies, particularly when dealing with environmental, social, and educational issues. Texas has conservative right-wing views and has been in conflict more often with the federal government since President Obama has been in office. The dilemma generally arises from a clash in opposing political and social views. One major issue that has arisen in over the course of the last two years has been a battle over funding for Planned Parenthood. Although the courts have deemed that this quarrel is not about abortion rights or access to abortion, the truth of the matter is that it really is. Texas leaders are against abortion and are trying to skirt federal law that allows abortion by imposing their personal agenda opposing abortion or anything that seemingly supports abortion on the Texas people. The problem is that in the midst of this chaos, low-income women of Texas are the ones who are suffering through the loss of basic and preventative healthcare.

Teenage pregnancy is linked to many critical social issues, such as poverty, lack of education, out-of-wedlock births, health issues, education, child welfare, and overall child well-being. These issues have been a social problem for decades, but it wasn’t until recent years when it emerged from being social invisibility to becoming an urgent crisis. “In 1995, in his State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton singled out teenage

Should abortion laws in the state of Texas be more strict? Every state has different steps

The ongoing teenage epidemic afflicting Texas is comprised of two separate yet interconnected movements: a 20-year period of high rates of pregnancy involving teenagers, and a more recent surge in limiting reproductive health care access through state legislative actions over the past 5 years.

The constant pressure that the Texas government apply on the teenage population about sex before marriage makes them think that their only solution when a teenage girl gets pregnant is abortion. Abortion is legal and accessible in Texas, and the majority of Texas metropolitan areas have abortion clinics. This kind of education would work better if the state chooses to teach about contraception methods, and the importance of abstinence. The only proven method for reducing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, the studies say, is to combine the abstinence message with one that teaches young people how to protect themselves against pregnancy and disease . However, the state opposes to teach about contraception because they do not want to give the impression that the state supports premarital sex. This conclusion from the Texas government is completely awful, because if the state teaches the teenage population about the importance and usage of contraception methods many teenage pregnancies could be prevented. Contraception can be extremely effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies when it is used consistently and correctly. Abstinence only is not a realistic approach for everyone, because what about those teenagers that have been sexually assaulted

Abortion, one of the most controversial topics mentioned in this county, especially the state of Texas, continues to be scrutinized from both sides of the spectrum. In 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme court ruled that abortion would be legalized on a federal level, however, many states including Texas have placed restrictions on the procedure. The question here should not be based on a moral standard, but rather, what is the right of the women and her say in her body. This essay will review both views on abortion along with the laws on abortion here in Texas.

The article “Delaying Parenthood”, BY the Baltimore Sun, illustrates the effectiveness OF implementing improved contraceptive access on Baltimore. The city, which experienced an outbreak OF teenage pregnancy, took action and cut their teenage pregnancy rates BY more than a third. OFficials implemented more informative sex education, but most importantly, teenagers received greater access to long-term, reversible contraceptives like IUDs. The goal OF the initiative revolves around the troubling facts that children born to teenagers are more likely to grow up disadvantaged in terms OF financial status, graduation rates, and possibility OF coming into contact with the law. Health OFficials began working with the schools and Planned Parenthood to demonstrate to students the severity OF their actions and the access they have to contraceptives.

Teenage birth rates, defined as live births per one thousand 15-19-year-old US females, declined by 10% from 2012 to 2013 from 29.4 to 26.5. In fact, the birth rate has been on a steady decline over the past 20 years, from 61.8 in 1991 to 26.5 in 2013. Teenage pregnancy represents both a health and social inequality in our society. Specifically, teenage childbearing is a public health issue because teenage mothers are more likely to experience negative social outcomes such as dropping out of school. This is a self-reinforcing cycle, as children of teenage mothers face higher chances of poor academic achievement as well as getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant in their teenage years (CDC). Although the overall rates of teenage pregnancy have dropped, ultimately, the variations in the rates reflect the intersecting disparities regarding race and ethnicity, income inequality, geography, and environmental factors, which in turn affect access to medical care, education, and resources.

According to a study in 2010, 75 of the 1,000 girls aged from 15-19 became pregnant and 45% of all girls in Texas become pregnant one or more times before they reach 20 years of age. These females are all less likely to complete high school, less likely to attend college, have lower cognitive development, and are more likely to end up as single parents. These high numbers reflect the fact that sexual education is not available in all states. Not all students have the privilege to learn about sex appropriately or correctly. Instead, they are taught that abstinence, or refraining from sex until marriage, is the correct path to take. The reality is that of the 12th grade students in Texas, 63% of them reported having sexual intercourse at least once. Texas has had problems with

Where in the first world would one expect the teen pregnancy rate to be the highest? Surprisingly, it is the United States that has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any first world country, more than double the rate of twenty other first world countries and almost ten times greater than that of Switzerland. While some of the disparity can be attributed to factors such as income inequality, the presence of abstinence only education has a major impact on birth and STD rates in the United States in comparison to other countries with more comprehensive programs. It is clear that this difference in approaches has a significant effect, and the United States needs to act to ensure the health of its citizens. Urgent actions are necessary

The first article came from the Dallas Observer and is titled, “Here’s How to Fix Texas’ Sky-High Teen Pregnancy Rate” (http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/heres-how-to-fix-texas-sky-high-teen-pregnancy-rate-7626551). The author of the article, Eric Nicholson, is extremely critical of Texas’ sexual education program and voices his criticism with heavy use of sarcasm. This September 28, 2015 article was prompted by Texas’ recent decision to provide low-income teenagers with access to free birth control. The author praises the decision and is hopeful it will help reduce Texas’ high birthrate which “puts Texas in the company of such bastions of progressive public-health policy as Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma.” Mr. Nicholson also notes that five Dallas ZIP codes recently received a loan from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help combat teen pregnancy. While he is optimistic that these changes will reduce the teen pregnancy rate, he also points out that “expanding access to contraception and improving education … are hardly groundbreaking techniques in the fight against unintended pregnancy.” For Mr. Nicholson, these are nothing but first steps which should have been taken long ago. He then proceeds to discuss five ways in which Texas can do even more to combat the high teen pregnancy rates in Texas.

How many pregnant teens have there been? Over the years more girls are becoming teen moms. In Oklahoma teen pregnancy has become a problem. Recently Oklahoma has had a pregnancy rate of 47.5% (Tulsa World). Not only is it an issue in Oklahoma but an issue in the United States as a whole. The lack of awareness and how to prevent pregnancy is a reason to blame for the increasing numbers. The more we don’t make people aware of the increasing teen pregnancy rate and how to prevent then the numbers will continue to rise into an astonishing amount. Helping teens know of the different ways to prevent pregnancy can make an enormous difference in teen pregnancy. The issues that have an effect on teen pregnancy rates have been to the use of

When I was twelve years old, I would watch the MTV show "16 and Pregnant" every day. The young ladies on the show had to completely alter their lives and sacrifice school for their children. People make mistakes in life, and abortion should be an option for teenagers who are not prepared for a child. The child should not have to be brought into a life of misery because their parents made a mistake. It is no secret that children should not have children even though it happens. I once spoke with a University of Central Florida graduate named Edna. Edna graduated with a 4.0 GPA and summa cum lade but she admitted that before she enrolled in the school, she found out that she was pregnant. Edna had a full scholarship to UCF and she knew that she would not be able to attend the school if she had a newborn. Edna decided to terminate the pregnancy in order to pursue her education. The abortion was traumatizing, but she would not have been able to provide a good life for her unborn child at the time. I do not think that teenagers should take advantage of abortion, however, I do believe that teenagers should consider their options instead of bringing a child into the world without the proper preparation. Most of the teenage mothers are still in high school and are still figuring out what they want to do with their life. With that being said, most teenagers are not financially able to provide for a dependent. A lot of teenagers do not even have support from their families, so

Teen pregnancy is a very controversial social issue and the vast majority of Americans consider the outrageous rate of teen pregnancies a severe issue, certainly a problematic occurrence that is believed to be a moral decline in our country. Teenagers are physiologically capable of reproducing but not emotionally or financially prepared to be parents at such a tender age. Through various research studies a plethora of determinants has pin pointed teens unprecedented pregnancies. One cause of this problem is the apparent indication of social separation or disadvantage. Within this issue you would find poverty, single parent households, educational disadvantages on the parents behalf, a lack family/parental support, and unemployment. A child’s educational performance, inappropriate sexual acts, and inferior apprehensions about their futures play a vital role in teen pregnancies as well. Amongst the listed disadvantages the three that take precedent are lacks of family communication, sexual abuse, and poverty. Furthermore, teen mothers do not fit the ideal ideology of the normative scheduling of motherhood, therefore, ultimately resulting in negative consequences for them and society. What needs to be understood is, as to why the numbers of teens are becoming parents at such a vernal age.