Referring back to jkid's very first, very disturbing post -- this sounds like projection to me. Most girls are not nearly as conflicted about their orientation as many boys. I do not believe for a minute that the GIRLS are getting pregnant to prove their heterosexuality, but I am quite sure that this is a common subconscious motivation for BOYS. Why do I think that ? Because it happened to me as a young woman, back in the days when NO ONE discussed orientation at ALL. Sorry for the caps, but this is an issue which I think underlies a great deal of teenage boy behavior and needs to be addressed. (Of course, the act of getting a girl pregnant to prove your own hetero status really proves the opposite . . . ) And . . . why aren't we advising young people that anal behavior is the 'crack cocaine' of sex, leading to all kinds of problems that will haunt them for many years ? Oh yes, it's not politically correct ! Silly me !

There are many reasons why teen women get pregnant. Many times it's peer pressure and the fact that they have to prove to their peers that they're heterosexual. Abstinence-only education fails because they concentrate on virginal intercourse, not oral or anal intercourse.

That is the reason why there is so much teen sex, they're not having virginal sex, they're just having more oral and anal sex. Despite the fact that they are doing the same practices that they hate sexual minorities of doing.

"Virginal intercourse"? Now, there's a novelty.

If one just google's any sexual term, thousands of sites appear, for all to view. Anyone can ooggle full sexual intercourse on a myriad of sites and get damn good and ready for the day they get to do the real thing. Gone are the days of innocence and respect. Here are the days of 'doin' it. Just listen to the music of the young, Rap. Its full of sexual images and rarely shows respect for purity, actually, never. Teens idolize their music stars, and the world they imitate is sex, drugs and rap. Is it any wonder girls are showing up pregnant? They are victims of a sex obsessed culture.

There is a lot to talk about here:

The young stars with their baby bumps on covers of magazines are multi-millionaires who will have no trouble paying for everything baby needs to adulthood, including nannies for "sanity" breaks from being Mom. Tabloidism encouraging other girls to do likewise(wealthy or not, mature or not, married or not) is so crappy that every sane person in America ought to curse (loudly in editorials) every magazine that does this--UNTIL THEY STOP. They are playing on deep maternal instincts to sell rags full of advertising. Hard to find a word despicable enough to describe this.

The future of honest sex education is on websites, not in schools. The sooner brave parents band together and put up the whole truth, and shocking enough to get the attention and respect of kids (for honesty), the better.
This has already started and needs to go astronomical and worldwide. Porn is decades ahead of truth-tellers.
Progressives could be leading this charge, and we should. AND THE FOCUS SHOULD BE SITES "JUST FOR BOYS"
(that the girls also log onto in droves) WHERE LOVE IS DESCRIBED, UNLOVE IS DESCRIBED, AND EVERY POSSIBLE QUESTION ABOUT HORMONE DRIVES, FEELINGS, SEX, MARRIAGE, BABIES, SEX & RELIGION, AND MANAGING ONE'S OWN SINGLE SEXUALITY IS ANSWERED WITH ABSOLUTE CANDOR, PICTURES AS NEEDED FOR CLARITY. (Yes, EVERY TOPIC. Ongoing Q&A, as commonplace and accessible as Wikipedia. Porn for money is ahead. Caring citizens must catch up and trump with truth. Faux won't do.)

The reason abortions are not featured and celebrated in movies is because no rising star is going to want to be in them. Abortions are sometimes needed, and always sad on some level. It's not marketable fare, and we ought to be glad instead of blaming abstinence talkers that we don't have enough abortions at the movies.

Plan B needs to be no-strings available everywhere, because the Supreme Court we already have is dead-set on attacking the other abortions from Roe. Unless we elect a Dem president, that attack is unstoppable for sure (with another conservative Justice) and may be unstoppable anyway. Five Catholic men are already there.

The U.S. has the highest pregnancy rate of all industrialized countries. What a dumb country. Oh well, it will provide more fodder for the future military and war profiteering for the super rich.

jjpeter, don't blame rap for teenage pregnancy. i saw Queen Latifah do a show fifteen years ago, and that woman, although perhaps not pure enough for your tastes, exudes nobility like a tangible thing; hers is the kind of presence that affirms and empowers young women of any color.

Purity is a concept that has been forced on women for a long time, and it raises my hackles somewhat.

Perhaps you should consider that you might not have heard all the different perspectives that are espoused in 'rap' music.

Misogeny is endemic in the world, although it wears many disguises. Truth (as I see it) be told, women are forged in this crucible, and as such are capable of strength, endurance, and courage of a kind that doesn't receive medals...it only keeps the world from coming to a grinding halt.

The Christian nation sure has a lot of sex outside of marriage, unlike the Muslim countries. Yet the U.S. believes its morals are superior.

Hilarious.

Having sex versus not having it has nothing to do with morality.

Gandhi believed abstinence from all strong sensuality was an important step toward spirituality. No sex, no drugs, and no rock-n-roll.

But there's a huge distance on the continuum between responsible reproduction and Gandhi's chosen asexuality.

American kids today don't care because their parents accept their babies with open arms. It has become culturally acceptable to be a teen mom/dad.

My dad warned me not to have children until I was man enough to take good care of them. That meant I would drop out of school and get a full time job and an apartment. He told me not to expect any help from him whatsoever. The thought of these consequences was a real boner-killer and it scared me into safe practices until I was married.

I like China's idea: you have to apply to have children. If you are deemed unfit, you cannot reproduce without serious consequences (fines, loss of benefits, jail-time, or possibly forced abortions for drug addicts).

RE: - The Christian nation sure has a lot of sex outside of marriage, unlike the Muslim countries.

And, officially, there is no homosexuality in Iran either. We really don't know what goes on inside Muslim bedrooms or on Muslim kitchen tables.

With pregnancy, you can have an abortion or you can give birth - but you can't tell a baby to wait a few years (until you are more ready) for him or her to come out.

With Universal Health Care, giving birth in a hospital will be as expensive as it costs to park a car.

With Affordable daycare, a mother can work or go to school.

We decide whether we want pregnant teens to be successful or not. It is up to them to decide whether they want to try.

lillulu:

You are correct. Rape, murder, abortions, teen pregnancy, pedophilia, and illegit babies are way more prevalent in America than in the "evil" Middle East.

I said in an earlier post - if the rate of crime and violence a country partakes in is the measure of its lack of civilization, then the US is the most uncivilized nation in the world.

There is socialized healthcare in Europe, where they have babies in very measured numbers.

In the Sexist United States we are trying to kill mothers or turn them into killers, with this Christian-Right anti abortion stance.

Let the people decide by popular referendum.

Just goes to show that numbers are manipulated on both sides of the argument. Zerbisias states...

"Not only does the U.S. have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world - more than double that of Canada's."

She then goes on to state...

"And so, only about a third of U.S. teens terminate their pregnancies. Canadian stats, although not as recent, show that about two-thirds of teens choose abortion."

What kind of ambiguous factual argument is this... she does realize that Canada has about 33 million people and the US has about 300 million people. You can't really compare the old stats from Canada where a disproportionately fewer teens choose abortion. Canada as a whole has a different value system and the pregnancy rate is lower not just because of abortion.

I'm all for a woman's right to choose but I think its amusing how the debate or dialogue must stop right there. Questions like why are our children having rampant sex get shot down and the majority of both sides continue with their systematic television brainwashing, where I'm sorry to inform Zerbisias that people's moral standards aren't exactly the dominating factor on mainstream television.

Some people act as if there wasn't any issue with abortion everything would be just fine and there would be some really well adjusted young men and women out there. Give me a break.

I think some want to know whats killing our society in general and some want to stop at the choice argument. I'd like to see it move beyond that.

Young women do this to create value. They want to feel as though they can do it all and have great careers too.
In my home, you would never have given birth to a child and expected your parents to raise and support it.
Should people even be thinking about this? The future does not look good for this generation or the next.

Antonia,
I hear ya! When I had an abortion 20 years ago I did not need to justify it to every shmoe that claimed a part in my decision. The US has gone down a dangerous road, not simply in terms of abortions but in terms of the power of the church.

To all the self-righteous right-winger hypocrites who condemn abortion: You can't be both pro-war, dropping bombs on innocent people including children -- and pro-life at the same time.

According to the evangelical Republicans, it's better that two people who don't love each other ruin their lives and the child's and have a kid and raise the child to be maladjusted in a family where everyone is unhappy -- than it is to simply terminate the unwanted pregnancy and have the parents go their separate ways.

I wonder how many of these unwanted children grow up to be on welfare, in prison, drug addicts, etc.

Let's face whether you say God or Nature the female body was meant to conceive during the teen years it is necessary for survival of the species. Baring babies is the main purpose of the female, everything else can be done by men.

Fox news and the Murdoch empire support right wing nut job politicians that claim to be Christian and in favor of sex only in marriage.

Watching the activities of Senator Wide Stance, Hot tub Tom Delay etc. and watching the content of Murdoch's empire tells a different story.

Also note their reaction to Huckabee, who seems to be sincere about sex only in marriage.

Reported murder statistics per 100,000 people for a few nations

But these may be under reported in some nations. (Some of them lie)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homicide_rate

El Salvador 55.3
Russia 19.8
Mexico 13.04
Thailand 8.47
Pakistan 6.86

US 5.9

Palestine 4.04
Yemen 3.98
Turkey 3.83
Iran 2.93
Canada 1.85
Saudi Arabia .92
Unted Arab Emirates .63
Oman.59

Twenty years ago, the mass media would depict extreme social pressure on a boy who got a girl pregnant to take responsibility for his action. Today, the pressure isn't there. Why? Because there's a capitalist racket going on. Mass media writers are manipulating the social norms to keep the audience thrilled at the flux. They claim "we're only mirroring society" but that's a load of kaka.

Neither free for all abortions nor absolute abstinance are solutions. Those are merely pretexts for the excitement of divisive political brawls. The unifying solution is to educate teenagers on the truth about human nature and responsibility for one's actions.

This nation needs to grow up and stop letting religion dictate morality! For one thing, most religious people know literally nothing about morality. All they have been spoon fed all their lives is religious dogma that tells them they should mind everyone's business for them. But, they can behave anyway they feel like as long as they ask God for forgiveness. That other people are not capable of making their own decisions without religion guiding them. As far as they are concerned morality begins and ends in the bedroom. All other moral lapses like lying, cheating, stealing are irrelevant to them. I am not certain what they think these lapses in moral behavior are, but they don't apply to Christian's. It's been my experience when you find a 'back-stabber' in the office it's always a good Christian woman who is indulging in it. So whenever I need moral advice a Christian is the last person on earth I ask. We need to start learning to 'live and let live'! Whether you believe or do not believe in abortion is not the issue here. Everyone has a right to their own belief's whether you agree with them or not. If people would start learning to 'live and let live' all the controversial issues like abortion, gays, sex education and etc would disappear overnight and we could start dealing with real problems in this country!

here in europe, or at least germany, girls are provided with FREE contraceptions till age 18. after that they pay very little, if at all considering circumstances. of course this implies that we have medical coverage for ALL citizens. a right not a paying privilege. abortion remains a private decision made between a woman and her Dr. never, ever a political subject for debate. I am an American expat living in Germany. I know personally, professionally and politically both sides of this coin.

Earl Simmins quote: "Let's face whether you say God or Nature the female body was meant to conceive during the teen years it is necessary for survival of the species. Baring babies is the main purpose of the female, everything else can be done by men."
______________________________________________

How old is this guy anyway? What a sexist jerk. Talk about living in the past. He's for women being barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. He must be a Rethuglican.

Girls in their teens aren't mature enough for motherhood. They are still adolescents! Anyone who wants to rob them of their youth is just plain ignorant.

lillulu January 17th, 2008 9:49 pm

To all the self-righteous right-winger hypocrites who condemn abortion: You can't be both pro-war, dropping bombs on innocent people including children — and pro-life at the same time.

I agree 100%. It seems all of the pro-lifers are only concerned about babies before they are born. What about caring for them AFTER they are born? Would Jesus really have wanted little children to be born into extreme poverty with little, if any, chance to grow up into a happy, well adjusted, productive adult? What about the children who are born with extremely severe birth defects that are diagnosed prior to birth such as Hydrocephalus, Spina Bifida, Downs Syndrome, or extreme bodily deformatories? Are these children better cared for if the parents are not emotionally, physically, financially, etc. equipped to provide a loving, nurturing home, or, if the parents choose to do so, to terminate the pregnancy? Decisions such as these can only be made by the parent(s) of the unborn child in conjunction with the doctor.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/VISIE/extremedeformities.html

All of you make some very good points-excepting Earl Simmins of course. That post MUST have been a joke. If not, please listen to the song "Earl had to die" by the Dixie Chicks.
As I was saying...all of you make very good points, but everyone has missed the most important one: the responsibility of the parents. No matter what the ethnic or financial background, if the parents counseled their children and gave a damn about them much of the crime and unwanted children would decrease. People are forgetting the adoption choice as well. Not everything has to end in tears. That way the child has a chance of growing up in a home that wants him/her and the birth parents can know that some happiness resulted from their own tragedy. Many adoption centers offer health care and counseling to young mothers as an incentive to give an infertile couple their child. Stop blaming everyone else and take responsibility for the choices that you and you alone make.
...I also don't necessarily disagree with the China option either. You have to have a license to drive a car or adopt a pet, so why shouldn't there be a license to be a parent?