Eva M. Clayton: “the current debate on welfare reform is accelerating the need to address the issue of out-of-wedlock teen births. We…”

“the current debate on welfare reform is accelerating the need to address the issue of out-of-wedlock teen births. We want to ``end welfare as we know it.'' But, I am afraid we will replace it with welfare as we do not want to know it. We do not want to enact legislation that leads to a policy of national child abandonment. Our current social crisis evolved over several generations. Consequently, we must realize that we cannot break this intergenerational cycle or eliminate the crisis overnight. To break the cycle of teen pregnancy and poverty, we must implement pregnancy prevention programs that educate and support school age youths--10-21--in high risk situations and their family members through comprehensive social and health services, with an emphasis on pregnancy prevention. I strongly support abstinence education and feel that it is critically important to fund abstinence programs for preteens as well as teenagers. Within 5 years, a concentrated abstinence program for preteens should bring about a decline in the number of teenagers who are sexually active. However, we cannot ignore the fact that today so many of our teenagers are already sexually active with or without our permission. It is therefore imperative that we also provide funding for contraceptive prevention programs for them.”