[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E965-E966]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. DONNA M. CHRISTIAN-GREEN

                           of virgin islands

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 22, 1998

  Ms. CHRISTIAN-GREEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues to 
take advantage of the fact that this is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month 
to speak about this important and far reaching problem in my community 
and many others across this nation, and to thank my colleagues Ms. 
Clayton and Mrs. Morella for their leadership in calling this evening's 
special order.
  According to statistical data provided by the Virgin Islands 
Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics and other sources, the 
incidence of sexual activity among the adolescent and young adult 
populations in the Territory is very high. Within a five year period 
from 1992-1996 there were 11,810 live births recorded in the Virgin 
Islands. Of those births, 25.7% were born to white non-Hispanic mothers 
ages 13-24 years of age; 44.3% to black, non-Hispanic mothers and 50.3% 
to Hispanic mothers in the same age group.
  Additionally, information provided by the national campaign to 
prevent teen pregnancy showed that birth rates for Virgin Islands 
teenagers ages 15-19 in 1995, though down from 1991 figures of 77.9%, 
were still at a very high 63%. But there is another distressing message 
underlying these statistics which cannot be overlooked; that is that 
our teens are having unprotected sex.
  As these numbers indicate the incidence of teenage pregnancy is 
declining, albeit slowly, and my community, as well as all other 
communities need to view this issue not only as a problem of young 
people having children before they are mature enough to accept and 
carry out the responsibilities of parenting, but as but a symptom of 
larger, much deeper issues of the poor and unhealthy socio-economic 
environment which creates and fosters this and other problems in 
minority youth.
  The best teen pregnancy prevention program would be to pass much of 
the Democratic agenda. Let's rebuild and construct new schools, hire 
and train more teachers, and improve our public educational system.
  Let's create more opportunities for a college education, jobs, 
business and home ownership. Let's fully fund our health care 
proposals.
  I have developed and worked in programs and clinics which serve 
pregnant teens.
  Too often we miss the opportunity to prevent second pregnancies, but 
a comprehensive program, which provides all of the supportive services, 
and which includes counseling, esteem building, and coordination with 
the schools the young parents attend is very effective.
  We also have to effectively and firmly deal with the older men who 
prey on our young women and are most often the fathers of the children 
they bear.
  Most of all parents cannot abandon their children once they have made 
this first mistake. That has proven to be the most important factor in 
how well we prevent the next

[[Page E966]]

pregnancy and whether the young woman returns to school and continues 
to pursue an education and career.
  But it is the best interests of all--mother, child and community--
that we help our children to delay pregnancy and the duties of 
parenthood, so that they themselves can continue to grow and develop 
and deal effectively with the many difficult issues of adolescence. 
This is necessary to provide healthy and productive adults. 
Furthermore, the children of adolescents are generally being raised by 
persons who are children themselves, without the benefit of the 
extended families of years past. They just don't have the parenting 
skills or the tolerance with maturity, and the children they raise 
demonstrate these deficiencies.
  Therefore, what we need to do is to fix our neighborhoods, provide a 
good public educational system, to make sure that there are 
comprehensive health facilities which are accessible to the entire 
family, and to open up opportunities for self-fulfillment other than 
parenthood. For many of our youngsters, there is nothing else, and that 
is our fault, not theirs.

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