PRINTER'S NO. 866
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
116
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY SCHWANK, HAYWOOD, FONTANA, TARTAGLIONE, SMITH,
DINNIMAN, GREENLEAF, PILEGGI, COSTA, RAFFERTY AND ALLOWAY,
MAY 6, 2015
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 6, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of May 2015 as "Teenage Pregnancy
Prevention Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, More than four out of five teenage pregnancies are
unplanned, and teens account for about one-fifth of all
unintended pregnancies; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 89% percent of these births occur outside of
marriage; and
WHEREAS, Teenage pregnancy presents the potential for serious
physical, emotional, intellectual and financial impacts on the
mother, father, baby and community; and
WHEREAS, Risks that often occur in teenage pregnancies
include anemia, toxemia, high blood pressure, placenta previa
and premature birth; and
WHEREAS, The social consequences to teenage mothers include
lower annual income and an increased likelihood of dropping out
of school; and
WHEREAS, Eighty percent of teenage mothers must rely on
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
public assistance at some point in their lives, and only about
one-third of teen mothers obtain a high school diploma; and
WHEREAS, Children of teenage mothers are more likely to
suffer health, social and emotional problems, to drop out of
high school and to end up in jail than children of adult
mothers; and
WHEREAS, Teenage fathers experience increased rates of
alcohol abuse and substance abuse, lower educational attainment
and reduced earning potential; and
WHEREAS, The annual national cost of teenage pregnancies has
been estimated to be as much as $28 billion per year, taking
into account public assistance payments, lost tax revenue and
expenditures for public health care, foster care and criminal
justice services; and
WHEREAS, The teenage pregnancy rate in the United States has
declined continuously from a peak of 61.8 births for every 1,000
adolescent females in 1991 to 26.5 births in 2013, but continues
to remain one of the highest rates in the developed world; and
WHEREAS, One in six births to teenage mothers in 2013 were to
teenagers who already had one or more children; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 26% of teenage pregnancies ended in
abortion in 2013, and about 5% of all abortions involved teenage
pregnancy; and
WHEREAS, Numerous individual, family and community factors
have been linked to teen pregnancy rates, including whether the
teenager is involved in school and after-school activities and
whether the teenager has a mother who gave birth as a teenager;
and
WHEREAS, Teenagers have been shown to be less likely to get
someone pregnant or to become pregnant if they have:
20150SR0116PN0866 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(1) open communication with adults about using
contraception;
(2) supportive parents;
(3) healthy family dynamics;
(4) healthy relationships with peers;
(5) peers who use condoms; and
(6) accurate knowledge about sexual health, pregnancy,
sexually transmitted infections and the importance of
abstinence;
and
WHEREAS, Teenagers are more likely to become or to get
someone pregnant if they:
(1) live in poverty;
(2) are the child of a teenage parent;
(3) are from a single-parent home;
(4) live in a home with a lot of family conflict;
(5) have sex at a young age;
(6) use or abuse drugs and alcohol at a young age; and
(7) have low self-esteem;
and
WHEREAS, In 2011, Pennsylvania ranked 38th in the teenage
pregnancy rate, and, in 2008, Pennsylvania ranked 36th in the
teenage pregnancy rate; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of May 2015 as
"Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize "Teenage Pregnancy
Prevention Month" to raise awareness of the risks and
consequences of teenage pregnancy and increase education on
prevention of teenage pregnancy.
20150SR0116PN0866 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30