Teen Birth Rates Down, Bristol's Pay Issue

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control shows that teen birth rates are on the decline...a 37 percent drop over the past 2 decades.   This is regarded as good news.   Pro-family advocates attribute this trend to the decisions of teens to postpone having sex.   There are numerous Christian voices speaking into the culture about the importance of abstinence, reinforcing the message that the way to prevent pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases, and emotional instability is to wait until marriage, to engage in sexual activity within the context that God had set up.

CitizenLink had this report.

While many would hail this CDC report as good news, what is believed to be a major factor - abstinence - is regarded as somehow counter-cultural or even harmful.    It is a battle to maintain Federal funding for abstinence-based sexual education, according to Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association:  “One-hundred sixty-nine abstinence-education programs (recently) lost (federal) funding, and over 1 million students lost access to the very programs that can support and encourage the positive trends."


And there are those that tip the hat to abstinence, but then turn around and encourage teens that insist on having sex to use contraception.   This is a mixed message and underestimates the power of choice that teenagers have.    Programs encourage saying "no" to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, believing that young people can make and follow through on those choices - why not abstinence?   

Ironically, this CDC news was released the same day that the mainstream media jumped all over the amount of money that Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, received as a spokesperson for the Candie's Foundation - the total received was over $300,000.   Now, I can't endorse the work of the Candie's Foundation - they do advocate the "abstinence-plus" apporach, but isn't it interesting that Bristol and her family were roundly criticized for her having a child out of wedlock (which is par for the course among the Hollywood crowd - just check out the number of children born to parents who are not married).    Now, that she's learned her lesson and is speaking out about prevention, she's being criticized because of the amount she was paid.    Is it a large amount?   Sure.   Is it an appropriate amount, considering the amount of influence she might have on young girls?   Perhaps.   I mean, just look at the Hollywood types who earn gaudy amounts of money for endorsing their favorite charities.   But, Bristol's message is not politically-correct in some circles - while some would not blink an eye at terminating a teen pregnancy, there is resistance to the message of prevention - because it involves making a counter-cultural choice to the teen mindset.    And, maybe even Bristol won't just keep all that money for herself - maybe even she can invest it to bring an accurage abstinence-based message to more teens and their parents.