While the national teen birth rate has slowed, Texas has made far less headway, alarming public health officials and child advocates.
Texas teens lead the nation in having babies. Last month, the nonprofit group Child Trends conferred another No. 1 ranking on Texas. In the latest statistics available, 24 percent of the state's teen births in 2004 were not the girl's first delivery.
"That astounded me," said Kathryn Allen, senior vice president for community relations at Planned Parenthood of North Texas. "I mean, what are we doing wrong?"
Texas' policy is to deny contraceptives without parental consent wherever possible and to push an abstinence-only sex education program in public schools.
Experts, though, are questioning that approach.
Source: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/wfaa071105_wz_birthrate.1deae6750.html
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