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Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Does getting married help teen pregnancy?
Does making ‘an honest woman’ out of a pregnant teen help the situation? Is it best for everyone or no one?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since Gov. Sarah Palin announced that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and planning to marry the 18-year-old father, I have been thinking a lot about whether getting married helps or hurts teens in this situation. (Jamie Lynn Spears is another recent example. She was only 16. The wedding was on, but now it appears to be off.)
It does “make an honest woman” of the girl and makes the baby legally legitimate, but does it set them up to fail?
A recent story from the Chicago Tribune examined the issue of pregnant teens getting married.The story points out that the number of pregnant teens choosing to marry has dropped dramatically over the years. Here’s the link to the full story. Here are some stats from the story:
Bonnie Miller Rubin and John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune report:
“It wasn’t long ago, however, that shotgun marriages were considered the norm, a way for a boy to make an ‘honest woman’ out of a girl who got caught having premarital sex. In the first half of the 1960s, almost 70 percent of white pregnant teens ages 15-19 tied the knot — compared to 19 percent by the early 1990s.”
“For black teens, the rate fell from 36 percent to less than 7 percent, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C.”
“But a confluence of trends, including contraception and increased career opportunities, has turned forced matrimony into a relic of another era — and certainly not the route to domestic bliss.”
“The combination of unplanned pregnancy and youth raises the risk for divorce, said Stephanie Coontz, a historian at Evergreen State University.”
Divorce360, a web site devoted purely to divorce, examined in a recent entry whether Bristol Palin’s marriage can work. Here’s the link and here are some excerpts of what it reported:
” ‘First marriages by women under age 18 are the most likely group to divorce,’ said Brette Sember, a retired attorney, author of ‘The Divorce Organizer and Planner.’ ‘The divorce rates are quite high for this group. Recent studies have shown that the brains of teens and those in their early 20s are not fully mature, so to expect someone to make a lifelong commitment and be able to stick to it at this age is just not realistic.’ ”
“According to a 2001 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 percent of those who marry before 18 are more likely to divorce within 10 years, compared with 24 percent of those who marry after age 25. The study used statistics from 1995.”
So what do you think? Should teens who find themselves in a “family way” get married?
Are the mother and baby better off staying with her parents and getting their help with the baby? Are she and baby better off marrying and moving in with the baby’s father?
What have you experienced personally or seen through friends or daughters or sons?
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