Teen Pregnancy Rates Rising With Alaska Leading The Way: CDC Report

Although 18-year-old Bristol Palin has made headlines in recent months for her pregnancy and the birth of her son, Tripp, she has a lot of company -- in her state and in the rest of the nation.

According to the newest numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen births increased by 3 percent nationally in 2006, reversing a 15-year decline of more than a third. And Palin's home state of Alaska -- one of 26 states to see a rise -- led the way, with a 19 percent increase in the teenage birthrate from the previous year.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[zippy2112]

Numerically, the largest increases were in the states with the largest populations. California, Texas and Florida together generated almost 30 percent of the nation's teen births .
AP NEWS

[zippy2112]

Where does my home town of Mississippi rate in this here study?

[emily00011]

who cares, you are math-challenged, so you'd have trouble calculating the %increase anyways.

[zippy2112]

looks like you are fact-challenged.

[Bitsko]

Alaska also has the highest rising rape rate in the country.

[Tom Payned]

I believe incest as well.

[bluguy8]

you can thank Sarah you betcha

[Scooter60660]

Ann Coulter should slam the Palin family the next time she is on the air promoting her book. Was it ever determined that Palin's daughter is a high school drop out too? I guess the Palin family represented real Americans after all.

[Grannysue]

Hum, seems the bible belt States are also well represented, maybe they will someday believe in birth control as well as their religions. Especially that nonsense about "Abstinance", yea that works well now doesn't it???? I would be very interested in comparing the rate of insest and rape along side the teen birth rates and of course those teens that say they used absistance only!

[Tom Payned]

Gee, Alaska is number one!

Folks this is the "Real America".

Sarah must also be proud, she found something her reign of ignorance could increase, a population explosion of unwed, uneducated teenage girls who no longer have a future.

What an example her family has shown. Don't finish high school, get an illegal job because of who you know, protect drug dealing in-laws because their arrest could derail your already doomed candidate.

I certainly hope that James Dobbson and Pat Robertson are so happy that their sexual education methods have proven so effective. Since the conservative Christian right were so happy to embrace Palin's decision to "choose" life, they must be ecstatic, all of those little underage girls drawing welfare, while the white baby daddy's shirk their responsibilities.

Oh wait, the party of family values, as part of their "Contract for America) pushed for and received welfare reform. These girls' babies will only get (socialistic) taxpayer funds to eat and have supplied health care for a total of five years.

Child support from the baby daddies? Good luck with that.

[tel8034]

Do you think James Dobson and Pat Robertson now understand that bein an evangelical right winger IS NOT the latest break through in birth control?

[Philip N. Cohen - Huffpost Blogger]

I just posted on this news. Birth rates are up for all groups - ages, races, and marital statuses - in recent years. Why? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-n-cohen/why-are-american-women-ha_b_156018.html

[kennybean]

Same reason plants produce more seeds when they are threatened?

[Margary]

Because it seems Republicans christians seems to think they have the right to run all our lifes the way they want to with their rules,laws, and christian beliefs!

[glockman]

And democrat christians don't?

[Bitsko]

While the repressors rule, the rest of us want to f*ck.

[zippy2112]

which state leads in teen abortions?

[VOTER]

Depends upon how you come by your information.

The wealthy don't go to clinics for such medical care.

SPA WEEKENDS are in.

[emily00011]

A baby makes unprotected teen se.x a-ok then?

[gastoys]

So much hate towards Christians in here, why?

What did Christians do that is so horrible to our society?

[BPCentrisAmerican]

no just the professional ones, who make a living off it

[BPCentrisAmerican]

Force there beliefs on me.

[Roxanna]

Because of their repression and ignorance about the sexual activity of humans and especially their repression of Women.

[glockman]

Like Islam treats their women so great.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

Nothing wrong with Christians, I one, sort of being a Catholic sometimes I wonder, anyway I don't have a problem with Christians except the born again saved variety, they just can't keep it to themselves, it's sort of like finding drink and preaching to everyone you know and don't know that they should drink with you, even though they don't want to. This gets old.

[Tom Payned]

It's not all Christians. It's just the stereotypical Right Wing Conservative we are the real America, the moral America, that I beleive people are slamming.

If this is the target group, I have to agree, these moralistic phonies have been attempting to force the rest of us to follow their beliefs, inflict upon the rest of us their choice to life in a land without sex and health education, to become ostriches with their heads buried in the sand while their hypocrisy is dragged out for the rest of us to see.

I oppose abortion, however, I don't beleive I have the right to make someone else's life altering decision.

I don't know how the world came into existence but don't enjoy being told the earth is only 6,000 years.

I don't like people who are cafeteria Christians who fall back on the old testament to justify their hatred and prejudice. If you beleive in Jesus stick with the New Testament.

Anyone how is slamming all Christians is not being fair. The Quaker's brought us the underground rail roads freeing slaves. Their are many other fine examples. So folks, direct your comments to the proper Christians.

[kylennblack]

Shocking.

And by shocking I mean not really.

What do you expect when the zeitgeist for the last eight years has been to denigrate knowledge as 'elitist' and to promote ignorance-only sex 'education.'

[TonyRome]

Alaska teens have a new role model in Bristol Palin.

[gastoys]

Yeah, you are correct, because liberal stars like Madonna are such great role models.

[VOTER]

Madonna might thank you but it is highly unlikely she is considered to
be a "teen" role model.

Bristol Palin, thanks to her Mommy Dearest, is now in the national
news.

She is not married yet she is a teen and a mother.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

Madonna's a liberal? I don't think she has ever shared politics. Do you think Brittany Spears screwed up personal life is a great roll model for young girls she loved George Bush. I would say the Dixi Chicks are liberals at least they were right about Bush, they seem to keep pretty normal personal lives.

[Victoria-HC]

Well, yeah, that's the whole point. Conservatives or religionists, if you will, are supposed to lead us in higher directions -- away from the bottom-feeding types like Madonna. Yet all that these supposedly elevated types can do is single out the worst examples of retrograde behavior, and then add to that retrograde behavior. Who needs you, if you cannot be a better model than the Madonna types or those women on Sex and the City? Who needs you to simply point to the worst, if you're as bad as the worst?

[bluguy8]

She's the poster child

[glockman]

I can believe this (Alaska having the biggest increase). Have you guys been there? I have. I had an extended visit two years ago. It didn't get dark until around midnight. It's natural beauty is hard to surpass. But there's not much to do there but drink and screw.

[Whatashame]

Drink and screw. LOL

[Irish55]

Wait until Ann Coulter hears about this!

[bleeplander]

According to her single moms are liberal and only a concern for democrats, which is obviously the belief of SP who cut funding on sex ed, and for single moms.

[quindy]

Why is this article in the "Style" section? What kind of style is it to be teenager and pregnant?

[Knowbetter]

"Lifestyle."

[zippy2112]

If you go to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web page you will see that the headline is misleading (surprise, surprise) Alaska is far from leading.

[quindy]

But they did have a 19% increase in one year. That's a lot.

[zippy2112]

below is data from the cdc site, AK ranks 19 out of 57 US states. The increase was +7.0

ALASKA 44.3

U.S. RATE 41.9

RANK 19

2005 ALASKA RATE 37.3

CHANGE FROM 2005 TO 2006 +7.0

[american2008]

I bet you think the status of #1 in forcible rapes in America is also wrong! Palin and that state is a total joke!

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/akcrime.htm

[kensp]

The article says that Alaska had the biggest increase since last year, not that Alaska has the highest rate of teen pregnancy. Biggest increase = leading the way. It is only misleading if you don't bother to read the article.

[zippy2112]

it is only misleading if you read the article.

[tel8034]

Yes and we all know the name of one teenager who was a part of the INCREASE.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

Mississippi and Texas are. Those professional Christians better tell there kids to zip it. I forgot they want the Federal government to pass morality laws.

[emily00011]

Quit spamming your dang statistics.

Is 7% something to be proud of? Is even 1% something to be proud of?

The message to the kids isn't getting through. Maybe if you taped the bib.les around their pelvi.ses it would help more than trying to pre.ach at them?

[zippy2112]

spam is good food, so is cheese.