Another Failed Conservative Policy

Teenage pregnancy rates are up for the first time since 1991:

Between 2005 and 2006, the number of teenage girls between the ages 15 to 17 having babies rose by more than 5,700 to 138,920, from a record low of 133,138, according to an annual report on the health and well-being of children and teens published by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.

The 4 percent increase in the teen pregnancy rate is cause for concern among health professionals.

What has not gone up, however, is the number of teenagers having sex: “While teen pregnancy is up, the percentage of teens having sex has remained stable for the past few years at 46 percent, according to the report.”

So much for the effectiveness of abstinence programs.

“This is one of the key indicators for the health of the teen population,” said Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics, during a conference call with the media. “Not only does this affect teen health at this point, but their health and well-being for the next 20 to 40 years, and the health and well-being of their children.”

Of course, this being Fox News, don’t expect to find the word “abstinence” anywhere in the article. Instead, you will find Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist who also just happens to be a Fox contributor, opining that technology is the explanation for why the teen pregnancy rate is rising:

Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist and FOX News contributor, said the recent reversal in the trend of declining teen pregnancy is a grave concern. He said young people, especially girls, are looking for ways to connect with themselves and others in an “increasingly technology-driven world.” One way to do that is to have a baby.

“It’s not pretty and we really need a public health response that’s very vigorous to counteract this,” he said. “Ultimately, the gravest long-term consequence is that we have babies being nurtured by mothers who really can’t provide them with what they need.

“And that’s really a self-centered act. You’ve basically declared that it’s all about you. Those people who are [acting] in this way may be the worst role models.”

Then again, if those teens had had abortions, Dr. Ablow would also be accusing them of self-centeredness and declaring that it’s all about them. If you are a pregnant teen, you are self-centered regardless of which choice you make. It has to be spun that way, because if Fox News and its contributors were to acknowledge the connection between seven years of fact-free, scientifically inaccurate abstinence-only sex education programs, and higher teen pregnancy rates for the first time in 15 years, then they would have to blame the adults in the Bush administration for failing America’s teenagers instead of blaming the teenagers.

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