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The mystery of the falling teen birth rate
Vox ^ | August 20, 2014 | Sarah Kliff

Posted on 08/25/2014 8:04:44 PM PDT by right-wing agnostic

The staff of TeenWise, a Minneapolis-based non-profit, crunched the numbers for its annual report on Minnesota teenagers' sexual health. Their calculations seemed to show something unbelievable: the state's teen birth rate had a double-digit decline between 2009 and 2010.

That seemed impossible. Just three years earlier, in 2007, Minnesota's teen birth rate had increased by 1.4 percent; nationally it had increased by 3 percent in 2006. How could the rate then fall so steeply and so quickly?

"We ran the data, and we figured it was a mistake," said Judith Kahn, TeenWise's executive director. "Then, it looked like everybody had a mistake. We talked to others around the country, and they were all seeing a very similar thing."

TeenWise's calculations turned out to be accurate. Minnesota's teen birth rate fell by 10.5 percent in 2010. That same year, the national teen birth rate fell by 9.2 percent. That was one of the fastest annual declines on record until 2013, when the rate declined another 10 percent.

For five years now, America's teen birth rate has plummeted at an unprecedented rate, falling faster and faster. Between 2007 and 2013, the number of babies born to teens annually fell by 38.4 percent, according to research firm Demographic Intelligence. This drop occurred in tandem with steep declines in the abortion rate. That suggests that the drop isn't the product of more teenagers terminating pregnancies. More simply, fewer girls are getting pregnant.

"My jaw dropped," said Laura Lindberg, a senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute, of seeing the 2013 data, which the federal government published in June. "It feels like we're on this roller coaster with the momentum driving us down, and the slope just keeps getting faster and faster."

(Excerpt) Read more at vox.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: teenpregnancies
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1 posted on 08/25/2014 8:04:44 PM PDT by right-wing agnostic
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To: right-wing agnostic

Boys would rather play video games. Girls are a lot of trouble.


2 posted on 08/25/2014 8:09:41 PM PDT by txrefugee
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To: right-wing agnostic
The TeenWise directors are getting a little nervous - they may soon be out of a job. Quick - get out and get more teens pregnant!
3 posted on 08/25/2014 8:09:44 PM PDT by Cowboy Bob (They are called "Liberals" because the word "parasite" was already taken.)
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To: right-wing agnostic

Virtue?


4 posted on 08/25/2014 8:10:09 PM PDT by Ouchthatonehurt ("When you're going through hell, keep going." - Sir Winston Churchill)
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To: right-wing agnostic

One would think this was a GOOD thing, no?


5 posted on 08/25/2014 8:11:02 PM PDT by hoagy62 ("Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered..."-Thomas Paine. 1776)
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To: hoagy62; Morgana; metmom

not necessarily, not if it because they are having more abortions, then it is deeply a bad thing.


6 posted on 08/25/2014 8:13:48 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: right-wing agnostic

“For five years now, America’s teen birth rate has plummeted at an unprecedented rate, falling faster and faster.”

Well, you know there’s HOPE when even dingbat Liberal teenaged girls don’t want to bring children into 0bamaWorld!

If they’re talking about BIRTH RATE, wouldn’t that differ from Live Births for Teens?

Easily obtained abortions would figure prominently, you’d think.

What am I missing, here?


7 posted on 08/25/2014 8:14:52 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: txrefugee

Father of 2 male teens. I think you are correct. More the second part


8 posted on 08/25/2014 8:15:22 PM PDT by wgmalabama
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To: txrefugee
"Boys would rather play video games. Girls are a lot of trouble."

That's a semi-joke, but I think there's some truth to it. As young girls gain more economic power relative to young men, as the economy continues to stagnate, as futures seem bleak, as homosexuality is normalized and celebrated, young men are more likely to regard a future with a woman as either unattainable or emasculating or just too much trouble.
9 posted on 08/25/2014 8:17:48 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: GeronL
"not necessarily, not if it because they are having more abortions, then it is deeply a bad thing."

The article said there was a drop in the abortion rate.
10 posted on 08/25/2014 8:19:33 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: txrefugee

A friend of mine blames smartphones, they never lift their heads up to look around.


11 posted on 08/25/2014 8:21:42 PM PDT by ClayinVA ("Those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it")
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To: GeronL

But they are saying it is not because of that. So, generally good.


12 posted on 08/25/2014 8:25:56 PM PDT by jocon307
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To: GeronL

not necessarily, not if it because they are having more abortions, then it is deeply a bad thing.”

Yes, it means and increased number of abortions and it is a result of the schools and the parents forcing contraceptives on teenage girls.

The numbers of dead babies is astronomical.


13 posted on 08/25/2014 8:29:21 PM PDT by Oliviaforever
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To: Steve_Seattle

Two words “Internet porn”


14 posted on 08/25/2014 8:30:32 PM PDT by Blacksheep (There are no coincidences......)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
Where the article said "This drop occurred in tandem with steep declines in the abortion rate.".

Either they are more effectively using contraception or they are having less sex.

15 posted on 08/25/2014 8:33:11 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: GeronL

Reading the source has its value:

“This drop occurred in tandem with steep declines in the abortion rate. That suggests that the drop isn’t the product of more teenagers terminating pregnancies. More simply, fewer girls are getting pregnant.”


16 posted on 08/25/2014 8:34:26 PM PDT by G Larry (Which of Obama's policies do you think I'd support if he were white?)
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To: right-wing agnostic

Anal sex is IN. So is girl-girl.


17 posted on 08/25/2014 8:34:44 PM PDT by informavoracious (Open your eyes, people!)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

“What am I missing, here?”

Homosexuality. More STD, and fewer babies.


18 posted on 08/25/2014 8:35:33 PM PDT by WhiskeyX
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To: Smokin' Joe

“Either they are more effectively using contraception or they are having less sex.”

Or both, the two are not mutually exclusive. They could also be having less sex. All three are possible at the same time.


19 posted on 08/25/2014 8:52:50 PM PDT by Fai Mao (Genius at Large)
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To: txrefugee

Boys would rather play games than attempt to get a girl and get rejected. Boys will drop their joysticks in a heartbeat if presented the opportunity. And girls are more forward these days, toward geeks and nerds besides.


20 posted on 08/25/2014 8:57:30 PM PDT by Tanniker Smith (Rome didn't fall in a day, either.)
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