Teen Birth Rates On The Decline

One News Now

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates the teen birth rate in the U.S. is on the decline.

Between 1991 and 2009 the rate of teen pregnancies fell by 37 percent, according to the CDC. Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, offers her reaction to the news.

"It's very significant that we have the lowest teen birth-rate in decades," she remarks. "And if you also look at another CDC report that shows that teen sexual activity is also on the decline, these are trends that are very, very encouraging -- and certainly we need to do all we can to encourage that downward trend, particularly in encouraging teens to wait to have sex until they're married." (See related story)

The abstinence advocate disagrees with those who would look at the report and believe that young people need more access to birth control. She argues that a closer look into the statistics shows that teens need more support for the good decisions they are making to abstain.

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