Bill Text: MI HR0139 | 2013-2014 | 97th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution to express the sense of this legislative body that the state of Michigan should continue its efforts to reduce the high rates of teen pregnancies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-05-14 - Referred To Committee On Health Policy [HR0139 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2013-HR0139-Introduced.html
Rep. Lamonte offered the following resolution.
House Resolution No. 139.
A resolution to express the sense of this legislative body that the state of Michigan should continue its efforts to reduce the high rates of teen pregnancies.
Whereas, More than 300,000 teenagers become pregnant each year in the United States; and
Whereas, The pregnancy rate for Michigan females aged 15-19 years old in 2008 was 51.1 per 1,000, and the birth rate for Michigan females aged 15-19 years old in 2006 was 30.1 per 1,000, resulting in 12,322 babies. This birth rate marked a 4 percent increase from 2005; and
Whereas, Despite progress over the last decade, 3 in 10 teenagers in the United States becomes pregnant, the highest teen pregnancy rate among comparable countries. After 14 straight years of decline, the national teen birth rate rose by 5 percent between 2005 and 2007; and
Whereas, Latina and African American teen girls are more likely than not to become pregnant before the age of 20, and Native American teens have a birth rate more than double that of non-Hispanic white teens; and
Whereas, Teen pregnancy is closely linked to a number of critical social issues, such as poverty, educational attainment, involvement in the criminal justice and child welfare systems, and more. Teen childbearing is estimated to cost taxpayers in this country $9.1 billion each year, most of which is due to costs associated with negative social and health outcomes for the children of teen parents; and
Whereas, A child is 9 times more likely to grow up in poverty if he or she is born to unmarried teen parents who have not yet completed high school. Less than half of mothers who have a child before they turn 18 ever graduate from high school, and less than two percent of mothers who have children before 18 have a college degree by age 30. Children of teen mothers are more likely to be born prematurely and at low birth weight. Children of teen parents are twice as likely to suffer abuse and neglect than would occur if their mothers had delayed childbearing and
Whereas, Fully 73 percent of adults and a plurality of teens wish that teens were getting more information about both abstinence and contraception; now, therefore be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this body believe that the state of Michigan should continue its efforts to reduce the high rates of teen pregnancies and births and by raising awareness about the importance of this critical issue, promoting parent-child communication, and investing in programs that have been proven to reduce teen pregnancy.
