Teen pregnancy rates – why are they higher in the US?

The United States of America has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world. That’s a scary fact, don’t you think? Why do we have the highest teen pregnancy rate? I’ll tell you why. 

Puritanism. Republican religious fanaticism.

Pure and simple.  This can also explain why the United States has the highest rate of infant male circumcision in the developed world, for non-religious reasons. But I digress.

Our schools are not teaching kids about contraception. Why? Because it would “encourage sexual activity too early.” Other countries teach contraception, their teens are not sexually active any earlier than ours, and when they DO become active (for the majority of teens, there is no stopping this natural behavior, folks) they end up pregnant a LOT less often than American teens. So, the argument is false. As I’ve said before, teaching kids that abstinence is the way to go, the method favored by the current Republican, religiously fanatical government, simply is NOT working. Teenagers in the United States are more likely to have sexual intercourse before age 15 and have shorter and more sporadic sexual relationships than teenagers in Canada, France, Great Britain and Sweden. As a result, they are more likely to have more than one partner in a given year.

U.S. teenagers have higher STD rates than teenagers in other developed countries—for example, England, Canada, France and Sweden—because they have more sexual partners and lower levels of condom use. The problem is that kids are not only NOT taught about contraception during sex ed at school, but parents are also reluctant, in the US, to talk to their kids about it. 

Countries with low levels of adolescent pregnancy, childbearing and STDs are characterized by societal acceptance of adolescent sexual relationships, combined with comprehensive and balanced information about sexuality and clear expectations about commitment and prevention of pregnancy and STDs within these relationships. So, it really is quite straightforward.

We need to accept, and understand, that it is human nature to want to procreate. In teenagers, this urge is not understood as purely a species-survival method, and let’s face it.. sex feels good. So, they will experiment, they will take active part. The sooner we can all realize this, the better. Then we can act. TEACH your teens, in fact, teach your pre-teens, about sex, protection and STDs. By all means, let them know you’d rather they didn’t become sexually active before they are married or at least in a committed relationship. But you have to face the truth.. chances are they won’t always listen. So make sure they are safe instead.

This does NOT mean you are encouraging them to be sexually active, it means you are encouraging them to be responsible and careful.