Teen pregnancy, birth and abortion rates in the United States have reached historic lows since their peak in the early 1990s, with declines occurring in all 50 states and among all racial and ethnic groups in the country, according to a new report by the Guttmacher Institute.
The latest data on the topic comes from 2010, when researchers reported some 614,000 pregnancies among females ages 15 to 19, with a rate of about 57 pregnancies per 1,000. The data marks a 15 percent decline in teen pregnancies since 2008, and a 51 percent decline since 1990.
Among both non-Hispanic whites and African Americans, the pregnancy rate dropped about 56 percent. Among Latinas, it dropped 51 percent. However, the report shows that minority women are still nearly twice as likely to become pregnant during their teen years than their white counterparts.
The report also shows that despite drops in all 50 states, serious disparities in pregnancy risks exist depending on a teen’s location. New Mexico, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma had by far the highest teen pregnancy rates. New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota and Maine had the lowest.
In addition, the teen abortion rate has declined 66 percent since its peak in 1988. That’s despite the fact that a higher number of teens reported being sexually active than in the past. The likely reason is increased contraceptive use and better pregnancy-prevention methods during the past 20 years.
To read the report, click here.
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