Teenage Pregnancy rates: New York vs Maryland

Teenage pregnancy is another epidemic plaguing today’s youth. While children are a wonderful gift, it is difficult to raise children when you are just a child yourself. Raising children takes patience and time and this is complicated by the fact that one has to work to support herself and the child. While researching this topic, it was revealed that New York State and Maryland have different teenage pregnancy rates and policies regarding the teaching of sexual education in school.

New York State has a higher than average rate of teenage pregnancy than most states. Per every 1000 females between the ages of fifteen through nineteen, 77 of them are pregnant. The nation’s average is 70 per 1000. As one can see, New York State has a higher teen pregnancy rate than the average state in the United States. One reason for these high teenage pregnancy rates in New York could be the lack of sexual education in schools. The Healthy Teens Act has passed in the New York Assembly four years in a row but has failed to be approved by the New York Senate.

There are over 327,000 sexually active teens in New York. New York also has the tenth highest pregnancy rate in the nation. In 2007, 42 percent of female high school students and 46 percent of male students in New York reported having sexual intercourse and four percent of female students and ten percent of male students reported having sexual intercourse before thirteen. Instead of a sexual education course, the New York State provides students from kindergarten through twelfth grade with health classes that inform students about HIV/AIDS. Parents may exempt their children from these classes only if the school gets reassurance that these children will learn at home. This is called the op-out policy.

In comparison to New York, Maryland has a different teenage pregnancy rate. Per every 1000 females between the ages of fifteen through nineteen, 65 of them are pregnant. This is twelve less than in New York. There are over 98,000 sexually active teens in Maryland and has the twenty- seventh highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation. Unlike New York, Maryland requires each local school board to work with county health departments to establish a health program. This program is called Goal F. Goal F is designed to help student “recognize the family as a basic unit of society that perpetuates life and promotes healthy growth and development.” Goal F also teaches students about family structures, contraception, and family planning.

However, Goal F has some restrictions. Direct teaching of human reproduction may not be addressed. Direct teaching of human reproduction may not begin before the ages of ten and no later than twelve. Courses must be designed with an appointed citizen’s advisory committee and local school systems must provide annual instructions in AIDS to all students at least once in third to sixth grade, sixth to ninth grade, and ninth to twelfth grade. Also, in the middle school sexual education courses, parents have to allow their children to participate and this is called the opt-in policy. In 2007, 59 percent of female students and 76 percent of male student in Baltimore reported having sexual intercourse, while eight percent of female students and 32 percent of male students in reported having sexual intercourse before thirteen.

One can assume that the high rate of pregnant teens in New York can be directly correlated to the lack of sexual education classes in schools. New York has more than 200,000 more sexually active teens than Maryland. New York officials can look at what Maryland has done in an effort to combat this teenage pregnancy problem.

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