com, Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates among teenagers in the United States have declined over the past decade but still remain an endemic public health issue. .
The reasons for the decline include increased motivation of youth to achieve higher levels of education, the availability of comprehensive sexuality education in schools, leading to young people's knowledge about contraception, more effective contraceptive use, and improved ability to negotiate contraceptive practice; and greater social support for services related to both pregnancy and disease prevention among adolescents.
Although teenage pregnancy rates in the United States are declining, a significant number of American teens have unintended, often unwanted, pregnancies each year, yielding negative outcomes for teenage parents, their children, and society in general. For example, teenage mothers are more likely to drop out of high school and live in poverty, and their children frequently experience health and developmental problems. While millions of American families struggle individually with the emotional and economic challenges that unintended pregnancy can bring, teen pregnancy poses a significant financial burden to society at large " an estimated $7 billion per year (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1998). .
While children need no permission from their parents to become parents, 30 states currently have laws in effect, or scheduled to take effect, that mandate parental consent or notification prior to a minor's abortion. Most of these states, however, allow a minor mother to place her child for adoption without her parents' involvement. Legislators in these states have decided, in effect, that while young women may not be mature enough to decide for themselves to terminate a pregnancy, they are all mature enough to become mothers and to make medical and other life decisions for their children. .
Jesy Pachiana a senior at Georgia College & State University has a very strong opinion on abortion.
