Teen Pregnancy and Abortion Rates Declining

According to new data released from the Center for Disease Control for the year 2010, birth rates for U.S. teenagers are at an all-time low.

The historically low rate of 34.3 births per 1,000 teen women represents a 9% drop from the prior year and a remarkable 44% drop since 1991.

If you're generally skeptical, as I am, the first question that comes to mind when you hear this good new is - maybe the number of births is declining because women are having more abortions? 

I did a little research, and I'm happy to report, that's not the case. An increase in aborted pregnancies is NOT the reason there are fewer teen births in the U.S. In fact, abortion rates among American women have been steadily declining for the last 30 years.

Check out this interactive chart which reflects the annual number of abortions per 1,000 women (aged 15-44) for every year since 1978.

To analyze trends in abortion rates at the state level, select a specific state from the drop-down menu on the chart. You can view an interactive map comparing current state-level abortion rates by accessing this link and clicking on Maps.

The indisputable statistical evidence that teens are having fewer babies and fewer abortions provides enough good news for Americans all across the political spectrum to be happy. The questions up for debate are: who gets the credit for these encouraging results, and more importantly, how do we make sure these trends continue?

10 Signs Girl Scouts Are Pro-Abortion, Pro-Gay

State lawmaker Bob Morris (R-Indiana) has unearthed internet evidence proving that the Girl Scouts organization is a radical group that promotes homosexuality and abortion.

While Democrats and others with a modicum of intellect and common sense have discredited Morris' accusation, I believe there may be something to the lawmaker's conclusion.

After a little online digging of my own, I found these damning facts, which I submit are indicative of the Girl Scouts' subversive ultra left-wing, pro-abortion, pro-gay agenda.

1. Five new controversial cookie flavors added. 
• Birken-Choc  crunchy outside, chocolatey good inside
• Fudge Packers  baked in a quaint refurbished 19th century Connecticut farm house
• Sponge Biscuits  safe, effective, and oh so tasty
• Thin Men  just like Thin Mints only more judgmental
• Granola Munch  not just for college girls any more
2. Neil Patrick Harris and Gloria Steinem deemed honorary Super-Daisies and hired as organizational spokespeople.
3. Cookie drive supported with new TV ads featuring a k.d. Lang jingle which will air during episodes of Glee.
4. Food coops, feminist bookstores, and the Cubbyhole on 12th Street added to the acceptable list of volunteering venues.
5. New Planned Parenthood award - given to any girl who successfully builds a campfire while reciting the legal text of Roe v. Wade. 
6. Emblem update - American eagle image replaced with Subaru Outback.
7. New slogan for the annual cookie campaign - "Now with more placenta."
8. Softball and golf added to camping and backpacking on list of core activities.
9. New badge created - the Two Girls Tie One Knot badge, currently authorized in only seven U.S. states and Canada.
10. Fashionable uniform re-design - all flannel, all the time.

Herman Cain Is Anti-Abortion but Pro-Choice

Having watched this interview segment three times, I am still confused by Herman Cain's position on abortion.

In the interview, the Republican presidential candidate says there are "no circumstances" under which abortion is acceptable. Then, when pushed on the questions of incest/rape, he characterizes abortion as a very personal decision, "a choice that the family or the mother has to make..." He takes it one step further saying, "whatever they decide they decide."

Cain declares himself to be completely opposed to abortion and says the procedure should be illegal, and then he answers a follow-up question with an eloquent pro-choice statement. We're all used to politicians contradicting themselves, but it's not often that we see it so well done in a single news clip.

In Defense of Pat Robertson. Really?

In the event that television evangelist Pat Robertson said something stupid (he has) or something hurtful (he did) and he needed to be defended (as if that were possible), there are overwhelming odds against the person who spoke out on his behalf being me. But, here we are.

On his 700 Club television show this week, a troubled man asked Robertson's advice on what to say to a friend who, in light of his wife's advanced Alzheimer's and severe dementia, wants to see other women. After some clear consternation, Robertson essentially says that the situation and disease are horrible, and that he wouldn't blame the man for being lonely and needing companionship. He also advises, and I am paraphrasing here, that if the man were to pursue other relationships, then he should divorce his wife rather than act in violation of his marriage vows.

It would be easy to blow this whole thing up and frame Robertson as a gutless and heartless bastard (and I'm not arguing whether or not that's ultimately true), but if you review the specific language and the context of his statements in this delicate and difficult circumstance, the reality is that this comments don't support that assertion.