Yeah....what are we doing to/for our young people. Brings tears to my eyes.

needtosay wrote:

In this day and age why are so many young women getting pregnant when they don't want to?   Why aren't so many young women preventing pregnancy from happening in the first place?  Also, there is no stigma with unwed pregnancy so why not carry the baby to term and give it up for adoption.  Why do we continue to press abortion as a young womans only choice when faced with an unwanted pregnancy?  Pregnancy can be prevented and should be prevented if the woman does not want to have a baby.  These women don't have to be in that position in the first place. 

Unplanned pregnancy rates continue to go down every year. Women are taking responsibility but birth control is not 100% and human nature is such that people make bad choices and mistakes every day. There are still women who are abused, raped, victims of incest, etc, who have no choice. There are women who's situations have changed. There are women who find out they are carrying a fetus with a major birth defect, or that carrying the pregnancy to term may threaten their health or life.

There will always be unplanned pregnancies, there will always be adoptions, and there will always be abortions. Not everyone is mentally equipped to have either an abortion or carry a pregnancy to term and the give the baby away. Most women who have abortions do not regret it but adoption leaves a pain that lasts a lifetime for some women. It's not up to me to judge someone else's decision or tell them they don't have the right to make that choice for themselves and their families.

needtosay wrote:

I know birth control isn't 100% but I think far too many people just choose to throw caution to the wind and deal with any consequences later. I think it only 4% of abortions are done because of medical reasons or the baby was conceived via rape.   It is good that the rate of unwanted pregnancies are dropping.  I hope the trend continues. 

The abortion rate has also been trending down since safe, legal abortions were made available. I think we're all working toward the same goal. 

needtosay wrote:

In this day and age why are so many young women getting pregnant when they don't want to?   Why aren't so many young women preventing pregnancy from happening in the first place?  Also, there is no stigma with unwed pregnancy so why not carry the baby to term and give it up for adoption.  Why do we continue to press abortion as a young womans only choice when faced with an unwanted pregnancy?  Pregnancy can be prevented and should be prevented if the woman does not want to have a baby.  These women don't have to be in that position in the first place. 

Good questions Need!
 
Pregnancy prevention includes comprehensive sexual education, availability of family planning services, abstinence and increased access to birth control methods. Providing contraceptives and family planning services at low cost or no cost helps prevent unintended pregnancies. Many of those at risk of unintended pregnancy have little income or access to family planning resources and upfront costs or access can be a barrier.  

The majority of unintended pregnancies is with teenagers, the vast majority from low income at risk homes. Over 80% were unintended. The 'tips' to avoid teen pregnancy are designed for the typical two parent home, the 20%. They promote parents and schools influencing children's decisions by being involved. There has been much success with the 20% and teen pregnancy has dropped substantially.

Then there are the 60% from low income at risk families that have little access to pregnancy prevention both in terms of education and birth control. Just Google how to prevent teen pregnancy and see how many suggestions are geared to the typical two parent home. Knowing the reasons why poor teens are more likely to have unintended pregnancies is crucial to reducing teen pregnancy. You are right, these women don't have to be in that position in the first place, yet they are. 

DollyLongstaff wrote:

Texass does it again.

A nine-year-old boy has been suspended by officials at a Texas school because they believe bringing an imaginary Hobbit ring to class is an act of terrorism.

When Aiden Steward watched “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” earlier this week with his family, he naturally wanted to pretend to be a character from the film. Specifically, he pretended to be Bilbo Baggins, the hesitantly brave hero who acquires a magic ring from the creature Gollum in the first movie in the trilogy, which is based on a book written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Forged at the fictional location of Mount Doom, it is “the one ring to rule them all,” giving the wearer the power of invisibility. The power of the ring aided Bilbo during his journey. So, Aiden brought a ring of his own to Kermit Elementary School and told his friends that they, too, could become invisible by using his ring. Again, the ring had no powers whatsoever, because this is reality.
 

Dolly, this is a story from January 2015. Why bring it up now under "Texas does it again"? As Aiden's dad said the suspension was a stretch as is bringing it up again almost a year later. I don't get the point of your post, perhaps you can enlighten me? 

I see your point Dolly