Fewer teens pregnant, but it's not because they're having less sex

Dragonfly · Sep 7, 2016

Fewer teens pregnant, but they're not having less sex - CNN.com

Teen pregnancy is way down. And a study suggests that the reason is increased, and increasingly effective, use of contraceptives.

But that wasn't because teens were shunning sex. The amount of sex being had by teenagers during that time period was largely unchanged,

No single contraceptive method stood out as singularly effective, said the researchers. Instead, they found that teens were using contraceptives more often, combining methods more often, and using more effective methods, such as the birth control pill, IUDs and implants.

The downturn in teen births actually dates back to the early 1990s, the authors say, with the rate dropping by 57 percent between 1991 and 2013. The increase in contraceptive use dates to the mid-1990s, with the use of any contraceptive at the most recent sexual encounter rising from 66 to 86 percent from 1995 to 2012.

Geee....it's like so many of us have been saying repeatedly:

If you're against abortion, the best use of your time is promoting contraceptive use, sex education, and ease of access to affordable birth control methods.

If teenagers can figure this stuff out, adults should be able to as well.

Your goal should be less accidental pregnancy.
Achieve that, and the vast majority of the abortion debate disappears.

How do you prevent accidental pregnancy?
Contraception. Education. Affordable and easy access to birth control.

Ikari · Sep 7, 2016

Yup, proper birth control can greatly reduce the probabilities of becoming pregnant. Has that ever been denied?

WCH · Sep 7, 2016

Ikari said:
Yup, proper birth control can greatly reduce the probabilities of becoming pregnant. Has that ever been denied?

Back around 2000 when both my daughters were in High School, I was told teens were having more anal, digital and oral sex to keep form getting pregnant. Noticed that wasn't mentioned in this article.

Dragonfly · Sep 7, 2016

WCH said:
Back around 2000 when both my daughters were in High School, I was told teens were having more anal, digital and oral sex to keep form getting pregnant. Noticed that wasn't mentioned in this article.

Does one get pregnant from those?

You do understand the article was about teenage pregnancy right?

Does one ever need an abortion from having/receiving oral sex?

So your point here is what exactly?

Ikari · Sep 7, 2016

Dragonfly said:
Does one get pregnant from those?

You do understand the article was about teenage pregnancy right?

Does one ever need an abortion from having/receiving oral sex?

So your point here is what exactly?

I think his point was that part of the reduction in teen pregnancy is that they engage more predominantly now in sexual acts that cannot result in pregnancy. I don't know if it's true, possibly, but I believe that is the point.

GEIxBattleRifle · Sep 7, 2016

Dragonfly said:
Fewer teens pregnant, but they're not having less sex - CNN.com

Geee....it's like so many of us have been saying repeatedly:

If you're against abortion, the best use of your time is promoting contraceptive use, sex education, and ease of access to affordable birth control methods.

If teenagers can figure this stuff out, adults should be able to as well.

Your goal should be less accidental pregnancy.
Achieve that, and the vast majority of the abortion debate disappears.

How do you prevent accidental pregnancy?
Contraception. Education. Affordable and easy access to birth control.

Even if abortion numbers go down, the abortion debate will always be here due to the nature of personhood.

WCH · Sep 7, 2016

Dragonfly said:
Does one get pregnant from those?

You do understand the article was about teenage pregnancy right?

Does one ever need an abortion from having/receiving oral sex?

So your point here is what exactly?

That it might no bean increase in contraception that's shifting these numbers. Maybe they're being more creative in how they 'get off'.

HonestJoe · Sep 7, 2016

WCH said:
Back around 2000 when both my daughters were in High School, I was told teens were having more anal, digital and oral sex to keep form getting pregnant. Noticed that wasn't mentioned in this article.

Maybe that wasn’t mentioned in the article because it wasn’t a finding of the study being reported. Something you “were told” 16 years ago is hardly conclusive evidence that it’s true nor that it’s relevant to overall national pregnancy figures over the past couple of decades.

Cardinal · Sep 7, 2016

Dragonfly said:
Fewer teens pregnant, but they're not having less sex - CNN.com

Geee....it's like so many of us have been saying repeatedly:

If you're against abortion, the best use of your time is promoting contraceptive use, sex education, and ease of access to affordable birth control methods.

If teenagers can figure this stuff out, adults should be able to as well.

Your goal should be less accidental pregnancy.
Achieve that, and the vast majority of the abortion debate disappears.

How do you prevent accidental pregnancy?
Contraception. Education. Affordable and easy access to birth control.

You would think this would be the easiest issue for pro-life and pro-choice to be aligned on. Both have the identical endgame.

HonestJoe · Sep 7, 2016

Cardinal said:
You would think this would be the easiest issue for pro-life and pro-choice to be aligned on. Both have the identical endgame.

You presume people who self-identify as “pro-life” or “pro-choice” have any end-games beyond the abortion issue. Normal people, with a focus on the kind of wider kind of end-game you’re thinking of don’t identify with simplistic binary labels on the question of abortion. Indeed, if they’ve any sense they don’t have a simplistic binary opinion on the questions of abortion at all.

The sooner we stop letting the extremists be the focus of the debate, the sooner we can establish some rational, practical and moral conclusions.

Cardinal · Sep 7, 2016

HonestJoe said:
You presume people who self-identify as “pro-life” or “pro-choice” have any end-games beyond the abortion issue. Normal people, with a focus on the kind of wider kind of end-game you’re thinking of don’t identify with simplistic binary labels on the question of abortion. Indeed, if they’ve any sense they don’t have a simplistic binary opinion on the questions of abortion at all.

The sooner we stop letting the extremists be the focus of the debate, the sooner we can establish some rational, practical and moral conclusions.

I'm confused by what you're trying to communicate here. Are you saying that pro-life doesn't want fewer abortions to take place?

Removable Mind · Sep 7, 2016

Cardinal said:
You would think this would be the easiest issue for pro-life and pro-choice to be aligned on. Both have the identical endgame.

One would think that prevention would be the number one goal for everybody, pro-life, pro-choice and every faction outside and in-between. I've posted links regarding various types of long-term birth control advances not yet on the market, but believed to be a reality within this decade. One such promising product is a an microchip implant that controls hormone production. And it's programmable. So when women choose to attempt a pregnancy they'll have control over the chip. But the best part is that it will last up to 15 years.

However...

There are religions such as the catholic church, which opposes birth control. And there are fundamentalist christians along with some evangelical factions, who oppose birth control. So prevention via birth control might not be the easiest issue to align with considering the sizable population of pro-life folks affiliated with opposing religious tenets.

And then there are people who had rather see taxpayers wind up paying about 300K over the lifespan of an unwanted child who winds up in the system than pay for birth control, which would be extremely less costs to taxpayers. That is perhaps one of the most mind boggling beliefs by a pro-life faction(s).

Dittohead not! · Sep 7, 2016

Dragonfly said:
Fewer teens pregnant, but they're not having less sex - CNN.com

Geee....it's like so many of us have been saying repeatedly:

If you're against abortion, the best use of your time is promoting contraceptive use, sex education, and ease of access to affordable birth control methods.

If teenagers can figure this stuff out, adults should be able to as well.

Your goal should be less accidental pregnancy.
Achieve that, and the vast majority of the abortion debate disappears.

How do you prevent accidental pregnancy?
Contraception. Education. Affordable and easy access to birth control.

It's pretty obvious, isn't it? If you want to reduce unwanted pregnancies and the number of abortions, then the way to go about it is increased access to an knowledge of contraception.

Abstinence only sex education doesn't work,
outlawing abortion doesn't work,
education and access to contraception works.

How is doing what works controversial at all?

Peter King · Sep 7, 2016

Dragonfly said:
Fewer teens pregnant, but they're not having less sex - CNN.com

Geee....it's like so many of us have been saying repeatedly:

If you're against abortion, the best use of your time is promoting contraceptive use, sex education, and ease of access to affordable birth control methods.

If teenagers can figure this stuff out, adults should be able to as well.

Your goal should be less accidental pregnancy.
Achieve that, and the vast majority of the abortion debate disappears.

How do you prevent accidental pregnancy?
Contraception. Education. Affordable and easy access to birth control.

The most stupid tactic of earlier years was "abstain and don't talk about sex anywhere, not at school and not at home". Because if we don't talk about it, say they are going to hell if they have sex before they are married and just ignore the reality of the situation kids will not have sex and will remain virgins until marriage and have children.

Cardinal · Sep 7, 2016

Removable Mind said:
One would think that prevention would be the number one goal for everybody, pro-life, pro-choice and every faction outside and in-between. I've posted links regarding various types of long-term birth control advances not yet on the market, but believed to be a reality within this decade. One such promising product is a an microchip implant that controls hormone production. And it's programmable. So when women choose to attempt a pregnancy they'll have control over the chip. But the best part is that it will last up to 15 years.

However...

There are religions such as the catholic church, which opposes birth control. And there are fundamentalist christians along with some evangelical factions, who oppose birth control. So prevention via birth control might not be the easiest issue to align with considering the sizable population of pro-life folks affiliated with opposing religious tenets.

And then there are people who had rather see taxpayers wind up paying about 300K over the lifespan of an unwanted child who winds up in the system than pay for birth control, which would be extremely less costs to taxpayers. That is perhaps one of the most mind boggling beliefs by a pro-life faction(s).

Yeah, I know they oppose birth control too, that's why... [overly loud stage whisper]...It's not really about the abortions!!

Visbek · Sep 7, 2016

WCH said:
Back around 2000 when both my daughters were in High School, I was told teens were having more anal, digital and oral sex to keep form getting pregnant. Noticed that wasn't mentioned in this article.

H'm, let's see.

Analysis of multi-year national studies like the NSFG and YRBS, which asked about vaginal-penile sex and contraceptive use

vs

Some dude on the Internet

Woah. Tough call. Not sure which has more credibility here. :mrgreen:

HonestJoe · Sep 7, 2016

Cardinal said:
I'm confused by what you're trying to communicate here. Are you saying that pro-life doesn't want fewer abortions to take place?

No, I’m saying that’s all they want, at all costs. This is a wide and varied subject area with multiple inter-related elements. Anyone focusing on one aspect alone (regardless of their angle) is wrong by definition.

Cardinal · Sep 7, 2016

HonestJoe said:
No, I’m saying that’s all they want, at all costs. This is a wide and varied subject area with multiple inter-related elements. Anyone focusing on one aspect alone (regardless of their angle) is wrong by definition.

Are you deliberately being vague?

Scrabaholic · Sep 7, 2016

Ikari said:
Yup, proper birth control can greatly reduce the probabilities of becoming pregnant. Has that ever been denied?

Yes. I have seen anti choicers (some, not all) say that encouraging the use of contraception promotes sex and causes more abortions.

Removable Mind · Sep 7, 2016

Cardinal said:
Yeah, I know they oppose birth control too, that's why... [overly loud stage whisper]...It's not really about the abortions!!

Exactly!

WCH · Sep 7, 2016

HonestJoe said:
Maybe that wasn’t mentioned in the article because it wasn’t a finding of the study being reported. Something you “were told” 16 years ago is hardly conclusive evidence that it’s true nor that it’s relevant to overall national pregnancy figures over the past couple of decades.

BS.... it's very relevant. It also goes to show how this country has been swallowed by the Leftist permissiveness.

Visbek · Sep 7, 2016

WCH said:
BS.... it's very relevant. It also goes to show how this country has been swallowed by the Leftist permissiveness.

Yes, life was MUCH better when conservatives were telling everyone what they could and could not do with their own genitalia. Freedom is great, as long as you don't actually exercise it in ways conservatives dislike. :mrgreen:

Meanwhile, back in reality: Teens are going to have sex. They've been doing it for as long as humans have existed, and will continue to do so, no matter how much shade you throw at them. I'd say they are much better off learning how to protect themselves and avoid unwanted pregnancies, than in ignorantly checking the oil and ending up with an STD or pregnant.

Visbek · Sep 7, 2016

This is the world made by leftist permissiveness

Hawkeye10 · Sep 7, 2016

Several studies have concluded that teens are having less sex, and I think they are correct:

The troubles with kids these days ... are not as common as they used to be. U.S. teens are having a lot less sex, they are drinking and using drugs less often, and they aren’t smoking as much, according a government survey of risky youth behaviors.

“I think you can call this the cautious generation,” said Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Among a decline in several risky behaviors, a sharp decline in sexual activity stood out to researchers.

The survey found 41% said they had ever had sex, after it had been about 47% over the previous decade. It also found marked declines last year in the proportion of students who said had sex recently, had sex before they were 13, and students who had had sex with four or more partners

Teens having less sex, using less drugs today, CDC survey says - NY Daily News

THis tracks with Japanese youth and young adults irrefutably doing sex less often:

Japan's under-40s appear to be losing interest in conventional relationships. Millions aren't even dating, and increasing numbers can't be bothered with sex. For their government, "celibacy syndrome" is part of a looming national catastrophe. Japan already has one of the world's lowest birth rates. Its population of 126 million, which has been shrinking for the past decade, is projected to plunge a further one-third by 2060. Aoyama believes the country is experiencing "a flight from human intimacy" – and it's partly the government's fault.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/20/young-people-japan-stopped-having-sex

Absentglare · Sep 7, 2016

WCH said:
BS.... it's very relevant. It also goes to show how this country has been swallowed by the Leftist permissiveness.

... What ?!?!?

The leftist permissiveness ?!?

How the hell does that connect with leftism ??

It sounds like you're just whining about general social progress.

Fewer teens pregnant, but it's not because they're having less sex

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