Birth report bodes poorly for children, society
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow - 3/20/2009 6:00:00 AM
Federal researchers are saying that 2007 saw more babies born than any other year in U.S. history. While the report indicates the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, it also found that teen pregnancies were up -- and a whopping 40 percent of births occurred out of wedlock. (See earlier report)
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Results from our related poll
What cultural factor do you think most contributes to the fact
that roughly four out of ten births in the U.S. are to unwed mothers?
Janice Crouse with Concerned Women for America says there is a big difference between children born to married parents and those born to couples were are not married. She explains while the probability is high there will be negative ramifications for children born to unwed parents, there also are negative consequences for the culture.
"It means that we are going to have far more behavioral problems in our schools, [and] there's going to be more violence on the street," says Crouse. "There's going to be a big problem for everybody in terms of the expense of caring for these children."
The family advocate says most of those children are in single-mother families, where the likelihood of poverty is very high. Part of the problem, she believes, is that American culture has glamorized single-motherhood.
"There's no stigma attached to having a child [out of wedlock] and there's no price to pay, no consequence...in terms of your acceptance within society," Crouse observes. "Some schools even have special classes now for girls who get pregnant while they're still in school."
Crouse believes the survey is also a wakeup call to parents who have children enrolled in public school that comprehensive sex education is not working. She argues that schools are focusing too much on the act of sex and not enough on the ramifications of unwed pregnancies.
