“Unwanted Pregnancies Rise for Poor Women.�
The National Center for Health Statistics among other sources led researchers to conclude that from 1994 to 2001, the rate of unplanned pregnancies increased by almost 30 percent for women below the poverty line. For women well above the line, the rate of unplanned pregnancies fell by 20 percent within that time.
When asked what they believed the drive was behind these trends,
“The authors noted that some state and federal reproductive health programs have been cut or made more restrictive in recent years. State and federal programs have increasingly focused on abstinence rather than contraception, and some analysts have argued that the shift is leading to less use of contraceptives and more unintended pregnancies.�
Leslee Unruh, the president and founder of The Abstinence Clearinghouse (self-explanatory title), says that the trends are due to the sudden and random failure of consistently effective sex education programs. She says, "They teach how to put on a condom rather than how to take control of their lives."
Because protecting yourself isn’t taking control of your life?
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So now instead of having 12% (yep that's approx 35,500,000 human lives ... positively criminal) below the poverty line (like to know who sets that bar) ... well, it's beyond comprehension. "America The Beautiful" what a joke ... once again, what the hell is wrong with you people!
Why would our government encourage poor women to give birth to children who will likely have few prospects unless it were to build a future army.
People with families that they're struggling to feed are less likely to endanger their jobs by doing things like striking and otherwise protesting for better working conditions, pay, et cetera.
They don't just need an army, they also want a class of cheap workers, and if you don't want to let immigrants in, you have to cause your lower classes to provide that cheap manpower. Lots of kids = poverty for the working-class, which means that both the working class and their kids, when they grow up, have fewer options for advancement and will be more likely to accept worse jobs and lower wages, for the "privilege" of keeping food on the table for the generation that they're being tricked into having.
Well said both of you! "Fodder" would be my word for it. Reminds me of an article that was tabled in parliament about 90 odd years ago ... along the lines of ... we must not educate the rabble or else whom shall we have to perform menial tasks ... tisk, tisk.
But this was mostly during the reign of our first pro-choice president, before the massive Bush cuts in healthcare and the HUGE attack on sex ed in schools. I mean, 'twas no paradise, but it was very different from what we have now. Imagine the stats in five or ten more years. I shudder to think.
One factor, not mentioned at all (why does this not surprise me) is that factor of LACK OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
yes, sex ed tends to suck. Condom access could be better, etc.
but ultimately, with rare expections (rape, birth control failure), unplanned pregnancies happen because people fail to take personal responsibility for their actions - sexual in this case.
also, it is at least implied that poverty was the causal factor preceding unplanned pregnancies, with nary a thought that unplanned pregnancies can be a causal factor making it more likely one will end up in and/or stay longer in the lowest income quintile(s)
there are few statistics more predictive in the realm of the social sciences than Out of Wedlock birth rates.
children born OOW are much more likely to
1) be in poverty at age 20, 25, and 30 than children born in wedlock
2) more likely to be incarcerated
3) more likely to be a victim of crime
etc.
also, if one looks at different groups (racial, ethnic, cultural, etc.), the correlation between OOW's and social pathologies is striking
more OOW's mean 1) greater crime rate 2) greater crime victimization rate 3) greater poverty 4) poorer health, etc. etc etc.
of course internal locus of control factors are rarely mentioned when big problems (tm) like thi9s are on the table, because they imply that responsibility etc. are a big curative factor, not external influence/govt. programs