66 Teens in School District Pregnant

The Albuquerque Journal (subscription required) ^ | December 23, 2003 | Rene Romo

[CedarDave]

The reasons for the spike in pregnancies among younger teens is unknown.
Couldn't have anything to do with current culture, upheaval in the families, single parents, could it?

''None of us are naive enough to think that that (dispensing contraceptives at clinics) is the whole answer,'' Gowing said. ''Teen pregnancy is a multifaceted issue, and contraceptives are just part of the answer. But for teens who are wanting to be responsible, we can take a roadblock out of their way.''
Amazing thinking, isn't it. A "responisible" teen is one who obtains contraceptives.

[Holly_P]

Posted here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1045043/posts

[Robert A Cook PE]

Gee, and every one of them under 16 is a case/victim of legal rape!

(Wonder if they can sue "reality" TV and MTV and Hollywood and Abercrombie & Fitch and ...

[Moleman]

Well one fact is Albuquerque girls put out :-)

[CedarDave]

Well, they probably do, but this is about Las Cruces which is at the southern end of the state.

[CedarDave]

Saw your New Mexican post after I posted this version. Same story, different take. Sorry.

[Pro-Bush]

Could be because of the high percentage of Hispanic students. In Mexico, it is not uncommon for girls to get married/pregnant at the age of 16.

[diamondjoe]

Forty of the young mothers were high school freshmen, seven are middle school students and two were in elementary school, which ends here with the sixth grade.

That's really horrible. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that girls are developing earlier than they used to--my wife teaches elementary school, and knows of a number of 2nd grade girls who have started menstruation, and who wear bras. Nevertheless, pregnancy in elementary school is definitely not a good thing.

[Coeur de Lion]

The myth of teen pregnancy is that these pregnancies are un-wanted pregnancies. The majority of them aren't. That's why all the prescriptions for eliminating or reducing them have been dismal failures--their diagnosis of the problem is wrong!

Women in the past had few choices when they had children out of wedlock. If they had the financial wherewithal to support it, excepting the societal approbrium that was applied, it wasn't a problem. Otherwise, the child would go into an orphanage or end up being adopted. Girls and women were aware of these consequences. Now that no longer applies. Is it any surprise that the out of wedlock birthrate and single woman headed households have exploded over the last sixty years?

[GaryMontana]

Oh how sweet, all these kids getting preg. Since the kids want to have children than the tax payers should NOT PAY FOR THESE KIDS TO HAVE KIDS! LET THE FATHERS of these Kids pay for them. Let the families of both father and mother of this child be forced to pay for the kid. When you make people responsible for their actions watch the teen age preg. rate DROP!

Why should I have to pay for your kid? If you want me to pay for your kid than I want you to have to pay the insurance on my CAR! Welfare for teenage mothers only encourages teens to get preg!

[blackie]

Horny little nippers in New Mexico. :)

[DannyTN]

"Amazing thinking, isn't it. A "responisible" teen is one who obtains contraceptives."

I was thinking that many of those pregancies might have been aborted in earlier years. But the nation seems less tolerant of abortions than it used to, and that's a good thing.

The other factor is the continuing lowering of morals on TV and movies. You show a kid 14 years of shows and movies where everyone sleeps together out of wedlock and then we're surprised when the kids try it out at 14.

[Old Professer]

66 teens in school pregnant, Juan Pomseme aka "Johnny Appleseed" missing, authorities wish to question him, scientists eager to examine and interview.

[FITZ]

http://www.gisd.k12.nm.us/DRC/2001-2002/summary.html

--Percentage of Low-Income Students 88% of the students in GISD are eligible to receive free or reduced-priced lunches under the family size and income guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture.

--Percentage of English Language Learners (ELL) 64.4% of the students in GISD have a home or primary language other than English.

[FITZ]

This situation is the culture of Mexico moving up into the USA --- and generational welfare. This is one of the largest welfare receiving populations there could be, they're just doing what their own mothers did for the same reason --- government handouts for the rest of their lives --- more money than they could ever hope to make by studying hard or working for a living.

[Spok]

Well...Hillary has been out of town alot lately...

[Pro-Bush]

Wow! Thanks FITZ, those are some statistics. I guess my hypothesis seems to be correct. Funny how the article made no mention of the school's demographics.

Excellent research.

[New Horizon]

Whoops! Forgot to refill the free condom machines again.

[MARTIAL MONK]

LET THE FATHERS of these Kids pay for them.

I know of one boy who had gotten 21 girls preggers -- and then he turned 16. How is he going to pay?

[ValerieUSA]

The reasons for the spike in pregnancies among younger teens is unknown.

Ummmm.... They are having sex. That isn't known?