European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 02, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday August 2, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 19 be childbirth often triggers consequences that Cloud the rest of the mothers Ping math motherhood by Steven v. Roberts new York times bout one million teen agers one in 10 be tween the Ages of 15 and 19, get pregnant every 600,000 actually Bear children and childbirth often triggers consequences that est of the mothers lives. A mothers Are much More Likely than their Iron out of school earn Low wages have Large Oki wind up on of the pregnancy epidemic was a on Capitol Hill recently when the Senate sources committee held hearings on a Carter ration proposal aimed at preventing teen agey and helping Young girls to Cope with Mother r after speaker echoed the View of Arthur the Center for population research Girt who has an illegitimate child at the age a Deary has w percent of her life s script writ ten for her. Her life choices Are few and most of them Are the Lead off witness. Secretary of health education and welfare Joseph a. Califano or. Called teen age preg Nancy one of the most serious and Complex social prob lems facing our nation but he got a hostile reception from some senators who oppose spending Money on new social programs. The Bill represents an attempt by the Carter administration to fulfil a Campaign pledge to provide alternatives to abortion which is strongly opposed by Carter Andy Califano. It would give $60 million to schools churches and clinics that devise demonstration addition it would provide $18 million to extend medicaid to pregnant women and another $64 million to expand existing programs such As family planning clinics and contraception experts led by planned parenthood feel the Bill is far too modest and places too much emphasis on the modern living needs of Young mothers rather than on girls who want to prevent pregnancy. As a serious alternative to abortion they say the Bill Isa the two main causes of the pregnancy epidemic Are in creased sexual activity and failure to use birth control. Most studies show that by age 16, More than20 percent of All girls have had sex that figure approaches so percent by age 19. There just Aren t any supports for those who want Tobe virgins said Kristin a. Moore of the Urban Institute. It really is harder to say moreover a Large pro portion of those who say yes do not use contraceptives one study concluded that while 2.4 million sexually Active teen agers do use adequate birth control methods another 1.7 million Lack reason for failure to use contraceptives is simple second difficulty is psychological. Gynaecologists and others who counsel Young people say that despite today climate of sexual Freedom Many girls remain deeply ambivalent about hesitate to ask for information and May not use birth control even if they know How because they Don like admitting to others or even to themselves that they intend to have third Factor is that about one fourth of teen age mothers actually wanted to get a confusing world a baby can seem to offer what a lonely girl lacks most purpose in life and someone who loves her. No matter Why teen age girls get pregnant the impacts almost always devastating. Girls in their teens experience More difficult pregnancies and produce More frail or sick children. Between one half and three quarters of girls who conceive in High school never graduate and the younger a girl is when her first baby is born the More Likely he family is to wind up in poverty. Marriage Seldom helps since three out of Ivateen agers who marry after getting pregnant Are divorced within six years. Almost no problem is More staggering because i seems to touch on All those other problems from welfare dependency to teen age unemployment said one administration official. Two general solutions have been proposed. Planned parenthood and other professional groups advocate More of what is already being offered More sex education More clinics More research. The second approach comes from the administration which takes the View that providing birth control is not want to add a moral dimension to sex education said Peter h. Schuck who Heads the teen age pregnancy task Force at the department of health education and welfare. Kids hunger for moral guidance and the purely clinical approach is not very this View is heavily influenced by the religious convictions of Carter a Southern Baptist and of Califano a roman Catholic. It implies that moral guidance would persuade at least some youngsters to abstain from sex the most effective of All birth control two approaches Are not mutually exclusive but since funds Are scarce there is Competition among advocates of different policies. Critics of the Carter plan Are uncomfortable with it moralistic overtones and feel it ignores the Basic task protecting teen agers who Are engaging in sexual inter course. Administration officials retort that critics particularly planned parenthood have a vested interest in the cur rent system. Supporters of both approaches worry that anti abortion forces in Congress will try to Amend the Bill to ban use of Federal funds for counselling teen Ager about abortion. Such a rider could do considerable damage since Good counselling services include abortion As one option. Another potential obstacle to the Bill is the fact that teen age pregnancy like abortion involves the question of sex and that makes Many legislators whole idea we run into is that women should not be sexually Active said Carolyn Bode of the women lobby a feminist organization Here. Even if the legislation does not pass this year Dis Cussion of it has helped focus Public attention on the Issue. It s not just bad girls from ghetto families who become pregnant noted one administration offi Cial. When you talk about one in every ten you re talking about the kid Down the Block As
