Despite a steadily dropping teen birth rate, the United States still lags behind such Western counterparts as France and Sweden when it comes to reducing teen pregnancies, births and abortions, according to a study released Thursday by the Alan Guttmacher Institute.
The study attributes the other countries' success, in large part, to teaching young people more about birth control and allowing them greater access to it. The study also says the other countries, including Great Britain and Canada, provide more incentives for teens to delay childbearing.
A group that advocates abstinence-only education took issue with the study, saying that when birth control is taught in the classroom it can drive up pregnancy rates.
Institute researchers acknowledged a federal report showing that the birth rate among U.S. teens last year dropped to a record low of 48.7 births for every 1,000 females, ages 15 to 19. That represents a 22 percent overall drop since 1991.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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