[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E941-E942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANE HARMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 1998

  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a subject of utmost 
importance: teen pregnancy prevention.
  Mr. Speaker, today the United States retains the unfortunate 
distinction of having the highest rate of teen pregnancy among 
industrialized western nations. Over the past decade we have made some 
progress in bringing down the number of pregnancies among teens. But 
too many kids are still having kids, and suffering social and economic 
repercussions throughout their lives because of it. We can and must do 
better.
  We must do better because unintended teen pregnancies mean more 
difficult lives, and fewer opportunities, for teen parents and their 
children. We know that teen mothers are less likely to graduate from 
high school, and more likely to depend on welfare. And their children 
start life at a distinct disadvantage--on average smaller at birth, 
they are more likely to be hospitalized, more likely to perform poorly 
in school, and more likely to suffer abuse and neglect.
  And the cycle is likely to be repeated. Over 20 percent of children 
of teen mothers will in

[[Page E942]]

turn have children at a young age. Mr. Speaker, our society suffers 
when our children start life with such odds against them.
  We must do also better because an ounce of prevention is indeed worth 
a pound of cure--prevention works. Studies show that the federal 
government spends more than $39 billion in assistance to families begun 
by teen parents and only $131 million to prevent teen pregnancy. When 
we work with our kids to prepare them to avoid pregnancy, through good 
parental communication and involvement in their lives, education, and 
family planning programs, the numbers are clear: unintended birth 
decline.
  What a better way, Mr. Speaker, to reduce abortion in this country 
than to prevent unintended pregnancies? I hope today we can all renew 
our efforts to support and fund teen pregnancy prevention programs.

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