Eva M. Clayton: “I am also delighted to join the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) as we serve on the House Caucus for the…”

“I am also delighted to join the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) as we serve on the House Caucus for the Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy. I am delighted for many year reasons; one, because this is an opportunity, and the month of May is an opportunity to raise the awareness. Over the last several years, I have spoken out often and devoted a lot of time and energy to this effort. But no more time is more rewarding than talking to young people themselves and talking to community leaders about this issue. This week alone, I spoke to three different schools. It included a high school and two junior high schools. What I am finding out is that young people themselves have views, opinions, and they are part of a leadership, too. They should be engaged in this issue. I am convinced if one is effectively to reduce teenage pregnancy, we must, indeed, bring the awareness to the community of the consequences of teenage pregnancies, not only to the families, the young people themselves, but also to the community. But more importantly, we must, indeed, engage our youth, because they are factored in resolving this issue. We have good news. Since 1990, teenage pregnancies have gone down. It has been a steady decline. So we should celebrate that as a Nation. We deserve to be proud of that activity.”