A press release from the Alabama Department of Health (ADPH) on Jan. 15, 2013, announced a record low for births to teen aged mothers (ages 10 to 19) in Alabama in 2012.
The figure is only 6,697 births to teen mothers, according to the Center for Health Statistics of the Alabama Department of Public Health. The teen pregnancy rate is down 25 percent (2.5 percent per year) from 2002.
The state credits the decrease to the Abstinence Education Grant Program, also administered by ADPH, funds four community organizations to implement abstinence-based programs in middle schools in 22 counties and the Personal Responsibility Education Program, administered by ADPH, targets high-risk youth ages 13 to 19. The programs are delivered in community settings such as juvenile detention centers, group foster homes, after school programs and with mentoring groups.
The state seems to be totally oblivious or in complete denial of two documented facts.
Births to all age groups decrease in a recession.
Condom sales increased in the United States by 8.1 percent in the 52 weeks through June 10, 2012.
While the state may wish to take credit for the decrease in teen pregnancies alone the reality is teens listen to each other and MTV more than anyone else.
Alabama government refuses to accept that teen pregnancies may well have declined due to Facebook and MTV pushing the use of condoms.
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