Knocked Up

There is an issue in today’s society, involving the youth, that is becoming a larger problem every year. This issue affects all classes of people no matter what ethnicity. The very thought of this particular issue makes parents gasp, and sends a shiver up young teens’ spines everywhere. Teen pregnancy is considered such an issue, not only because of moral judgments, but also because when the responsibility of a life is instilled upon a young adult or teen, in many situations, the challenges that occur are overwhelming.   To solve this problem the underlying causes need to be defined and, to do so, questions must be asked. What are other countries doing that the US is not? What exactly causes teen pregnancies in the US? Is it Brittany Spears and all her suggestive gyrations? Is it the sex crazed media and tabloids? Could this be from a lack of education? Or could it possibly be from bad parenting?
Teen pregnancy can be defined as “pregnancy in girls age 19 or younger” (Chen). With approximately 800,000 teen pregnancies a year (Dickerson and Crockett 12) the rate of teen pregnancy in America is among one of the highest numbers in the world, whereas, a country like France has a rate of adolescent pregnancy 6.5 times lower than that of the United States (Caldas 402), and Japan, a country with a far more dense population, has a teen pregnancy rate 16 times lower than that of America (“Japan…”)! According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, the United States has the highest teen birth rate of the 22 most industrialized countries in the world (“Japan…”). With modern science and seemingly endless methods of contraception, one would question why the country with the most readily available supply of birth control would have the highest percentage of teen pregnancy. Some argue the lack of proper sexual education is to blame.
      In a recent study by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States...