Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New York Times (12.23.03) - Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Linda Villarosa
According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the pregnancy rate dropped from 11.5 per 1,000 to 8.5 per 1,000 in 1999 among women ages 15-19. It estimates that the abortion rate declined in women 15-19 from 40 per 1,000 in 1990 to 24 per 1,000 in 1999.
"Since 1991, when teen birthrates peaked, there's been a tremendous amount of attention focused on preventing teen pregnancy, and it has paid off," said Stephanie Ventura, chief of the reproductive statistics branch of the National Center for Health Statistics and a co-author of the new report.
AIDS awareness campaigns have also helped reduce teen pregnancy, especially in the black community. "Our community has had to become more forthright and willing to discuss sexual issues, because we have been so hard hit by AIDS," said Bronwyn Mayden, executive director of Campaign for Our Children in Baltimore.
Experts in the field point to statistics that show teenagers are having less sex and using contraception more effectively when they do. CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that the percentage of high school students who ever had sexual intercourse dropped among girls from 51 percent in 1991 to 43 percent in 2001, and among boys from 57 percent to 48 percent. Among high school students, condom use during the same 10-year period rose from 46 percent to 57 percent.
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