It's Late...

Background Information

The North American teenage birth rate is among the highest in the world.

An estimated 1 million teens become pregnant each year and

approximately 30,000 of these pregnant teens are under 15

years of age. While 400,000 pregnant teens opt for abortion

each year, another 600,000 decide to give birth. Nine out of

ten of the teens who give birth want to keep their babies.

Although teens represent only 18 percent of fertile women

in this country, they have 46 percent of out-of-wedlock births

and 31 percent of all abortions. Studies show that six out of ten

16 to 18 year-olds and one out of three 13 to 15 year-olds have

had sexual intercourse. Alarmingly, nearly six out of ten sexually

active teenagers do not use any form of birth control.

Misinformation is the primary cause of unintended teenage

pregnancy. Although teens want to get detailed, accurate

information about sex, few parents and few schools actually

provide them with this information. Recent surveys show

that only one-third of U.S. secondary schools offer any form

of sex education and only 39 percent of such courses discuss

contraception.

Most parents shy away from discussing birth

control with their children because they fear that discussing

it is tantamount to condoning sexual intercourse for their kids.

In response to this lack of information from reliable sources,

it is not surprising that teens turn to their peers to fill in the

gaps. Unfortunately, the information provided by peers tends

to reinforce the myths and misperceptions about sex that

lead to unintended teenage pregnancies.