Calling Captain Obvious: Teen Pregnancy highest in abstinence only states

[RZM]

10. The data points to demography and not education as the main reason for these disparities

The national teen pregnancy rate is 71 per 1000. Broken down by race, the black and hispanic rates are about the same, at 123 and 125, respectively. The white rate is about 1/3 of that, at 43.

Mississippi and New Mexico actually have pretty normal rates by race. Mississippi's white rate is a bit higher than the average (60), while the black and hispanic rates are a bit lower (114 and 116).

New Mexico's white and hispanic rates are almost exactly the same as the national rates (44 and 127). Its black rate is actually significantly lower (79).

So, all things being equal, these states should be around the middle of the pack. Demography is the reason they aren't. Mississippi is about 40 percent black, while New Mexico is 46 percent hispanic. Even though the rates for all groups are about normal in both states, their overall rates are skewed because the minority share of the population in both states is far greater than the national share.

It's the same story at the bottom of the list. While the study I link to doesn't have racial data for New Hampshire, it's a heavily white state. Next door Vermont is actually 49th on the list, even though its white rate (40) is very close to the average and only 4 points lower than New Mexico's. It's near the bottom because the state is almost entirely white.

Minnesota ranks 47th, even though its black and hispanic rates are actually higher than the national average (132 and 139). But its white rate is pretty low (29) and since it's an overwhelmingly white state, it's near the bottom of the list too.

www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf