Initiative 26 is Not the Answer for Mississippi

If the State of Mississippi is ultimately trying to save lives with Initiative 26 and reduce its high teenage pregnancy rate -- one of the highest in America -- it must refocus its currently reactive efforts on prevention instead, especially on the education and poverty fronts.

Not only does Mississippi have the lowest levels of educational opportunity in the country, but it also has the highest percentages of its population over 25 years old without a high school diploma (roughly 20 percent). Couple this with a high poverty rate of 21.8 percent for the state, one of the highest in the nation.

All of this correlates with high levels of violence: Mississippi is one of the most violent states in the US. It ranks in the bottom half of the US Peace Index (34th), compiled by the Institute of Economics and Peace.

That violence costs the state money. Reduce Mississippi's levels of violence by a mere 25 percent and the state could save over $1 billion. These are monies that would be very useful in improving educational opportunity and intensifying poverty alleviation, two strategies critical in reducing its high teenage pregnancy rates.

The unfortunate tendency for many states in America, however, is to pursue policies that primarily react to violence, not aim to prevent it. But if Mississippi is truly concerned about its teenage pregnancy rates, the way to address it is not through Initiative 26, but by getting its population into school and out of poverty.

Michael Shank is US Vice President at the Institute for Economics and Peace. Follow Michael on Twitter. Follow the Institute for Economics and Peace on Twitter and Facebook. Michael serves on the board of the National Peace Academy, is an Associate with the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict and a doctoral candidate at George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

 

Follow Michael Shank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Michael_Shank

Comments

[Iamrebelriser]

10:06 PM on 11/08/2011

I don't understand why women in Mississippi would consider even voting for this abusive measure. Looks like people with any brains will be flowing out of there. Why don't you people just go back to men with clubs dragging women behind them by their hair? That probably didn't really happen, but that is how males who ruled over women with no concern for their rights were depicted. This initiative is abusive and no different than in third world countries where women are stoned to death because the males used them for sexual gratification, while the males who used the women get off free. Why don't you, instead, counsel the young women to keep themselves away from men, and how about providing the young women with birth control along with education about preventing pregnancies?

[Iamrebelriser]

09:54 PM on 11/08/2011

It is SOOOOOOOO abusive to put together legislation that punishes all women to stop teenage pregnancies, and once this Initiative would be passed, we all know it would be the law for years & years. The non abusive means of preventing teen pregnancies would be to consentrate somehow on counseling and maybe even birth control made available for teens. We all know that the "just say No" idea was a huge failure. How about doing a turn around and issue huge fines for the males who inpregnate those girls? It would certainly be a better means of preventing pregnancies than punsihing all women. This is supposed to be a civilized country compared to the third world countries where women can be stoned to death while the men who used them are let off with no blame whatsoever. Whichever way you look at it, Initiative 26 is very abusive toward women, and all women should take a serious look at why these zealots of the religious right are issuing abusive laws that keep women enslaved. The next thing, they'll want to drag women behind them by their hair.

[synergie]

10:54 AM on 11/08/2011

If any of these people actually cared about life and preventing abortion they'd bother to address the root causes of unwanted pregnancies and do whatever they can to prevent them, or begin to address the social and economic reasons that people are forced to choose abortion. That isn't actually their goal, so they go forward with thoughtless pieces of idiocy like this amendment.

[Seven Teenatheart]

11:56 PM on 11/07/2011

I think this article paints a much rosier picture than can be found in modern day Mississippi....

Mississippi has the highest child death rate in the nation:
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa/mississippi-child-death-rate

Second highest teen death rate in the nation:
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/usa/mississippi-teen-death-rate

And highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation:
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/teen_pregnancy_highest_in_the_south_mississippi_102210/

They teach predominantly abstinence only sex-ed (a colossal failure), and also have abnormally high rates of STD transmission:
http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?id=12925

Mississippi - in my opinion - does not deserve to ask for more children until it can preserve, protect, and care for those it already has.
This bill can only foster more of the same, at a faster rate....

[jf12]

05:08 PM on 11/07/2011

All of the polls idicate it will pass by a large margin.