Teen Pregnancy in Illinois

1120 Words3 Pages

In some regions of the world such as China, a one child policy was established due to overpopulation (Jian) . One of the reasons for overpopulation was because of the vast number of births from exceptionally young couples. Locally, in 2009, 1,991 children were born to women between the ages of fifteen and nineteen in Rock Island ("Illinois Teen Births by County") which was a shocking amount due to the dramatic drop in teen pregnancies nationwide (See Figure 1 below). Figure 1 in 2009 the teen birth rate was the lowest it had been in previous decades. However, Rock Island County was rising (“Teen Birthrate Hit Historic Low In 2009”). Based on these statistics, teen pregnancy is obviously a large issue in this county. A possible solution to the issue would be that sex education could to be taught in junior and senior high schools and be taught by parents more often. By the time of sex education, a vast majority of students have already had sex. This may have played a part in Tony, from The Other Wes Moore, being a father at such a young age. The ultimately best solution to help stop teen pregnancy in this county alone is to provide a “sex clinic” to these teenagers. A safe sex clinic is a way of providing teenagers the facts of the real world and even offering various forms of birth control. As other solutions, parents need to have a sex talk with their children, and schools need to provide the option for a sex education more frequently. However, there is no way to mandate what parents teach to students, and it takes far too long to change a state's curriculum. That’s why, through this solution, the rate of teen births would show to decrease for the better. The disadvantages of teenage pregnancy and birth... ... middle of paper ... ...ina’s Brutal One-Child Policy." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 May 2013. Web. 07 May 2014. Kempner, Martha. "Illinois Governor Signs New Sex Education Law" RH Reality Check. N.p., 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. "Knowledge Base: How Do I Start a Nonprofit Organization?" GrantSpace. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. "New Poll: Parents Are Talking With Their Kids About Sex but Often Not Tackling Harder Issues." Sexual & Reproductive Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Santos, Fernanda. "Sex Education Again a Must In City Schools." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Aug. 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. "State Policies in Brief." Guttmacher. Guttmacher Institute, n.d. Web. "Teen Birthrate Hit Historic Low in 2009." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 May 2014. "The Reasons Teens Get Pregnant." Teen Help. Teen Help, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

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