2008 Woodie Awards
Illini Media
WPGU
buzz
Illio
TechnographOther Campuses: Waning women's rights
Posted: 9/6/05 Section: Opinions
(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' impending confirmation hearings have citizens nationwide on high alert. It is speculated that Roberts' appointment could lead to the eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case allowing women to seek abortions within the United States.
Meanwhile, in a society founded upon the principle of choice, undercurrents are already in motion to eliminate all options to both prevent and end unwanted pregnancies.
Under a new state law that went into effect Sept. 1, doctors performing abortions on minors without parental consent could theoretically be tried for capital murder, an offense punishable by death.
Never mind the fact that Texas has the highest teen-pregnancy rate in the country. A whopping 22,911 pregnancies among 13- to 17-year-olds were reported in 2003, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, a statistic that represents roughly 3 percent of that population.
Of those pregnancies, 15.5 percent ended in abortion, while 83 percent resulted in live births. The most alarming side effect of this is less than one-third of teenagers nationwide who give birth prior to age 18 finish high school, rendering them more or less incapable of supporting themselves and their children.
According to Victor Strasburger, an expert on adolescent behavior at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, the United States has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates of any other industrialized country because of fallacies in sexual education programs.
"Until Americans get over their hysteria about giving young people access to birth control, we will continue to have the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Western world. It's really that simple,"" he wrote in a published study.
The one window of light was shut indefinitely last Friday when Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester M. Crawford announced that the agency will put off the decision of whether or not to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception to adult women.
Meanwhile, in a society founded upon the principle of choice, undercurrents are already in motion to eliminate all options to both prevent and end unwanted pregnancies.
Under a new state law that went into effect Sept. 1, doctors performing abortions on minors without parental consent could theoretically be tried for capital murder, an offense punishable by death.
Never mind the fact that Texas has the highest teen-pregnancy rate in the country. A whopping 22,911 pregnancies among 13- to 17-year-olds were reported in 2003, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, a statistic that represents roughly 3 percent of that population.
Of those pregnancies, 15.5 percent ended in abortion, while 83 percent resulted in live births. The most alarming side effect of this is less than one-third of teenagers nationwide who give birth prior to age 18 finish high school, rendering them more or less incapable of supporting themselves and their children.
According to Victor Strasburger, an expert on adolescent behavior at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, the United States has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates of any other industrialized country because of fallacies in sexual education programs.
"Until Americans get over their hysteria about giving young people access to birth control, we will continue to have the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Western world. It's really that simple,"" he wrote in a published study.
The one window of light was shut indefinitely last Friday when Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester M. Crawford announced that the agency will put off the decision of whether or not to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception to adult women.
The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.
The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.
If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.