[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEENAGE PREGNANCY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is 
recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President launched a 
national campaign to reduce teenage pregnancy. Today, I am circulating 
a letter that will be sent to the President by the end of the week--
stating the support of Members of the House of Representatives for this 
vital initiative.
  The goal of the President's campaign is to reduce the rate of teenage 
pregnancy by one-third in 10 years. It is a reasonable goal. It is an 
achievable goal. This is a campaign that can be won and must be won. 
This is a campaign that all of us should be engaged in, Democrats, 
Republicans, and independents.
  A recent report to Congress on out-of-wedlock childbearing indicates 
that 30 percent of all out-of-wedlock births are to teenagers, below 
age 20. The increase in out-of-wedlock births is alarming. Most 
alarming is that 30 percent of the out-of-wedlock births are to 
adolescents.
  One objective of welfare reform, shared by both political parties, is 
to reduce teenage childbearing. We can not ignore the reality that most 
young men and women are increasingly delaying marriage until their mid-
20's and beyond--but not sexual activity.
  In 1960, 14 percent of young women ages 15-19 were married. By 1992, 
the proportion was less than 5 percent.
  Because these young men and women are becoming sexually experienced 
at younger ages without the benefit of marriage and sex education, 
there are proportionally more teenagers exposed to the risk of 
unmarried pregnancy. In 1970, 29 percent of 15-19 year old females were 
sexually experienced. By 1988, that number had increased to 52 percent.
  The relationship between poverty and teenage pregnancy is 
significant. In 1994, of all young women age 15-19, 38 percent were 
defined as poor or low-income. According to the report, of these, poor 
or low-income young women 73 percent were projected to become pregnant. 
In 1988, 56 percent of pregnant girls ages 15-19 were from families 
with incomes less than $12,000 annually. By contrast, 27 percent whose 
family incomes were between $12,000-$24,000 gave birth, and only 17 
percent whose family incomes were above $25,000 gave birth.
  Reducing teenage childbearing is likely to require more than 
eliminating or manipulating welfare programs. The underlying causes are 
said to include family instability, economics, poverty, lack of 
education, and sexual abuse. And, sadly, the report indicates that 
young women and men who become teen parents have few expectations, few 
ties to community institutions, few adult mentors and role models, and 
too much spare time. Many live in communities where crime and drug use 
are common, where dropping out of school and chronic unemployment are 
even more common.
  In my opinion these causes can be reduced to the lack of hope and 
confidence in the future by our teenagers. Our society cannot endure 
this human burden.
  We must, therefore, implement pregnancy prevention programs that 
educate and support school age youths, 10-19, in high-risk situations 
and their family members through comprehensive social and health 
services with an emphasis on pregnancy prevention.
  But again, Government programs alone will not properly address this 
serious problem of teenage pregnancy. All sectors of our communities 
must be engaged. In my congressional district, I have created a task 
force of private citizens and State and local officials to study ways 
that we can address this problem.
  The task force has begun planning for a forum on adolescent pregnancy 
prevention to be held on March 16, 1996. This forum is designed to help 
local communities understand the problem, to engage the participation 
of various organizations--youth, church, civic, and public 
institutions--and to give visibility to successful community programs.
  The President's national campaign to reduce teenage pregnancy will be 
a tremendous boost to those efforts.
  The total cost of maternity care for an out-of-wedlock birth and the 
baby's first 12 months of medical care is said to be more than $8,000, 
according to the North Carolina Department of Human Resources. The 
number of teenage pregnancies covered by Medicaid in North Carolina in 
a year is nearly 13,000. When that number is multiplied by $8,506, the 
grand total becomes $108,851,282. If all of these teenage mother's had 
been able to delay becoming pregnant until they were older and 
financially able to take care of a baby, those resources could have 
been used in other productive ways.
  After the first year of life, very often these same teenagers require 
AFDC, food stamps, and additional Medicaid benefits for the child. Mr. 
Speaker, my colleagues can do the math on these figures; however, the 
point is obvious.
  Prevention is much better and cheaper than punishment after the fact 
of childbearing. And, we should not forget that teen pregnancy is also 
a strong predictor of a new generation of disadvantage. The equation is 
simple. As poverty is the most accurate predictor of teen pregnancy, 
teen pregnancy is a near-certain predictor of poverty.
  The board membership of the national campaign is broad and 
bipartisan, including former Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop and 
former Senator Warren Rudman. It is an easy, yet important gesture to 
let the members of the board know, through this letter to the 
President, that we in the House of Representatives stand behind them. 
Their goal is ambitious. The situation is urgent. Each Member has an 
obligation to be engaged in this effort.

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