Teen pregnancy rates rise for first time since 1988

The Buzz

March 6, 2013

Teen pregnancy rates are on the rise for the first time in more than a decade, according to a new study released by Guttmacher Institute. The study looked at rates of teenage pregnancy, birth and abortion, and numbers of teenage pregnancies, births, abortions and miscarriages, by state from 1988 to 2008.

Map

Graphic: Guttmacher Institute

Highest pregnancy rates

According to the study, in 2008, New Mexico had the highest teenage pregnancy rate with 93 pregnancies per 1,000 girls age 15-19.

The next highest rates were found in Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, Arkansas and Arizona.

Lowest pregnancy rates

New Hampshire had the lowest rate in 2008, 33 pregnancies per 1,000 girls, according to Guttmacher. Following behind were Vermont, Minnesota, North Dakota and Massachusetts.

Abortion rates

According to the study, teenage abortion rates in 2008 were highest in New York with 37 abortions per 1,000 girls age 15-19. Other states with the highest rates included Delaware, New Jersey, Hawaii and Connecticut.

The study also indicated that more than half of teenage pregnancies ended in abortion in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

Abortion rates were lowest in South Dakota, 5 per 1,000, Utah, Nebraska and Kentucky, according to the study.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

The Buzz

Purchases by dementia sufferers put stores in quandary
An increasing number of lawsuits have been filed across Japan against department stores that allowed unusual purchases to be made by elderly people with dementia.

June 17, 2013 1 Photo
VIDEO: National anthem singer gets hit with racial tweets
After 11-year-old Sebastian De La Cruz sang the national anthem at game three of the NBA finals, rascist tweets poured in. Some tweets questioned De La Cruz's right to be in the country, to which he said: "People don't know, they just assume that I'm just Mexican, but I'm not from Mexico, I'm from San Antonio, born and raised."

June 17, 2013 1 Photo
VIDEO: You won't believe how much Google interns are paid
Many interns work for free. Not at Google.

June 17, 2013 1 Photo
VIDEO: Husband accidentally sells wife's wedding ring at garage sale
A husband who accidentally sold his wife's wedding ring at a garage sale is hoping the person who bought will bring it back.

June 16, 2013 1 Photo
VIDEO: NASA Releases incredible images of tornadoes on the sun
Space weather can have a surprising impact here on Earth.

June 16, 2013 1 Photo
Police arrest man accused of dining and then dashing
A man who has sampled many of Gloucester’s better restaurants without paying was arrested in a final fiasco at Azorean last weekend.

June 16, 2013 1 Photo
Police rescue children while mother smokes pot
Two juvenile males were rescued while climbing out a third-floor window by police while their 25-year-old mother was smoking marijuana downstairs.

June 15, 2013
VIDEO: Plane slams through hangar after wrong turn
A small passenger plane crashed through a hangar at the Chino, Calif. airport after the pilot apparently lost control during an engine test.

June 15, 2013 1 Photo
VIDEO: Fishermen catch 1,300 lb shark off California's coast
The 1,300 pound shark may break a world record.

June 13, 2013 1 Photo
22 maps outline America's linguistic differences Not everyone in the continental U.S. agrees on how to pronounce "caramel," or whether to use "soda, pop or coke." A series of maps created by Joshua Katz, a Ph.D student at NC State University illustrate these differences.
June 13, 2013
More The Buzz Headlines