Mississippi Breeding

Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen birth rate! Hooray!

Mississippi's rate was more than 60% higher than the national average in 2006, edging out Texas and New Mexico with more than 50%. The three states have large proportions of black and Hispanic teenagers — groups that traditionally have higher birth rates, experts (and typical folks) noted. The lowest teen birth rates continue to be in New England, where three states have rates at roughly half the national average, which is 42 births per 1,000 teen women.

It's not clear why Mississippi, with 68 births per 1,000, surged into first place, but they always said the South shall rise again. More than a year ago, a preliminary report on the 2006 data revealed that the U.S. teen birth rate had risen for the first time in about 15 years. But the new numbers provide the first state-by-state breakdown. The report is based on a review of all the birth certificates in 2006and significant increases in teen birth rates were noted in 26 states. About 435,000 of the nation's 4.3 million births in 2006 were to mothers ages 15 through 19. That was about 21,000 more teen births than in 2005.

Some experts have blamed the national increase on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that does not teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception. They said that would explain why teen birth rate increases have been detected across much of the country and not just in a few spots. But I can. Take a look at the most recent election results. See any similarities?