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Percentage of women aged 20-24 who had first intercourse before age 20:

France -- 83%
United States -- 81%

Teenage birth rate per 1,000 births:

France -- 9
United States -- 49

Note also France mandates a progressive nation wide sex ed and contraception program and the US's highest teen pregnancy rates are found in the Bible Belt where many schools dictate abstinence-only sex ed or no sex ed at all.

It seems obvious to me, but I ask R&S: why do you think that the US's teen pregnancy rate is 7 times higher than France's?

Also, is abstinence only sex ed or denying teenagers sex ed child abuse?

2007-09-04 15:34:01 · 27 answers · asked by James-hova RTR: Suspended Champ 2 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

http://www.thebody.com/content/art2418.html

2007-09-04 15:40:54 · update #1

@ Spuuurkles: Rape? Are you kidding. So Bible Belt men rape teenaged girls to the point where there is 7 times more pregnancies? I don't think so.

@ beletje_vos: The French media are far more sexual than in America. Go to Paris and you'll see huge ads featuring topless women in the subway!

2007-09-04 15:50:14 · update #2

@ skalite: You can fly higher than an eagle no that you have this info.

2007-09-04 15:51:01 · update #3

@ busy-little-bee: If you read the question you'll see that the French have sex at the same rate, meaning the same "lack of morals" but get pregnant 1/7th of the time. So, you're wrong.

2007-09-04 15:53:20 · update #4

27 answers

I personally know many teen-aged boys who simply refuse to use condoms. They figure the girl should be on the pill, and sadly many girls don't have parents that would allow them to do that. I bet I know a dozen teen-aged girls with babies that did it on purpose as well.

:(|)

AD

2007-09-04 15:46:40 · answer #1 · answered by AuroraDawn 7 · 2 1

Percentage of women aged 20-24 who had first intercourse before age 20: United States -- 81%

Cool... I'm of the 19%! (20 years old here.)

Besides your cruel saying of "poppin' out kids", the blame may be put on the media having sexuality become a more and more popular thing even directed toward very young children (who want to grow up faster nowadays) and teens having sex more often when the females are on the 'pill' which is not 100% failproof.

Why is it higher than France's? Because French people are smarter I think... the U.S. has worse education and more religious dogma. (Fundie president, also.)

2007-09-04 15:43:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3 1

Abstinence only teaching leads to 0% knowledge of safe sex, which leads to pregnancy. However, if you're smart and teach a kid safe sex-- then they'll be having sex no more than the Abstinence crowd, but be popping out way less kids.

Bible Belt teachings are so bad for kids, especially when it comes to sex things. How hard is it to admit that Abstinence teachings do nothing, and sex ed should be manditory?

Star for you.

2007-09-04 15:50:05 · answer #3 · answered by mathaowny 6 · 3 0

I lived in a quite neighborhood were the old people lived, then they let their single parent kids come back home to live and then their (the single parent ) teens grew up and their parents or the single parent mom's did not care about how they walked around late at night, in fact they gave them cars to ride around in. They party late at night and get drunk. Two teens already had a child and the girl was 16. The guy lives with his granma and gets drunk and even look like hes a drug dealer with people coming by and staying for only ten minutes.
I think the big problem is the lack of men in the house, my tow kids have a stepdad. Both their father's are nonexistant, and don't even pay childsupport. My daughter struggles to get along with her stepdad, but hes the only dad she knows.
Other teens in my church have other problems, cutting themselves, and gangs in schools, pior pressures, and who knows what else, break down of the family.
My family was so dsyfunctional, I was a daughter/wife to my dad and my mom was so depressed, she just gave up and traded places with me, she became the daughter and i the mom.

2007-09-04 16:03:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

Interesting statistics and a good question.( I thought there was sex education in our schools in the U.S.!) I think teens should be taught about sex by their parents but that doesn't always happen. Both our son and daughter were taught about sex by us -- they were taught abstinence, responsibility, and also about protection. My only answer to your main question is that parents in the States are not doing their jobs well enough in this department. Leaving this subject for the schools to teach is too risky and every parent in this Country needs to step up and talk, talk, talk to their kids!!

2007-09-04 15:49:36 · answer #5 · answered by Native Spirit 6 · 3 0

Well the rates you quote are to me a sign of a deeper problem. You see it is not sex ed that is needed, but Morals and Values that should be taught. When I was growing up the rate of teen birth was not near what it is now. But then that was before it became not Politically Correct to teach girls not to act like alley cats, and teaching the young boys to become men not dogs in heat. If we teach them to behave then they will not have the problems, I also favor not allowing girls to date until they are at least 16.

2007-09-04 15:44:49 · answer #6 · answered by cowboy_christian_fellowship 4 · 1 3

They just aren't being smart about what they are doing. They might not have had the right education or they might not have a good relationship with their parents. Drinking/drugs and lack of judgment I believe definitely play a role too.

2007-09-04 15:41:07 · answer #7 · answered by ~*~Sweet Turtle Luver~*~ 3 · 1 0

The rate of teenage pregancy in the US has NOTHING to do with christianity or the lack of it---what it's got 100% to do with is the TOTAL LACK of any kind of communication between TEENAGERS AND THEIR PARENTS!!!!! So many parents have what I call DROP OFF KIDS any more---they drop them off for classes, or drop them off for sports activities, or DROP them at the malls but these same parents are WAY TOO BUSY to spend any TIME with their teenagers...Kids are being brought up at DAY CARE CENTERS or in rooms at home ALONE with no adult supervision. You've got 9 year olds starting DINNER for their working parents OR, the kids just grab something quick and run off...... no one sits down for a FAMILY DINNER any more---there is no time... I grew up in the 50's and 60's, when parents still took time to BE with their kids.... VERY FEW girls got pregnant and those that did were hidden away---it was a SHAMEFUL thing to be a pregnant teen back then---now it seems NO ONE CARES either enough to BE around their kids so it doesn't happen or to take care of it AFTER the fact... once again, the kid is DROPPED OFF.. for welfare to take care of her AND her now BABY.... If the PARENTS don't start taking the RESPONSIBILITY THEY SHOULD HAVE for their OWN KIDS, this trend will just get worse and worse...

2007-09-04 15:47:42 · answer #8 · answered by LittleBarb 7 · 0 3

Because for the last 7 years the Bush administration has only given money to abstinence-only education...which, as we all know, does not work.

2007-09-04 15:51:55 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3 1

Certainly a lack of education rates high on the list of reasons.

2007-09-04 15:44:04 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3 0

The teen-aged girls ain't
"poppin" out the kids unless
the teen-aged boys are putting
them in there in the first place.
How about some boys learning and actually using....
condoms???

2007-09-04 15:43:37 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 4 1

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