Oh my God

I am seriously surprised by this, but it seems that abstainance-only education is working: Teen pregnancies and birthrates among teens is at an all time low. Whoa. The decline, to the lowest teen birth rates since national tallies began in 1940, is a remarkable personal health reform, sharper than U.S. declines in smoking or increases in seat-belt use. Counselors who work with teens cite many factors but give much credit to more cautious and assertive girls. "A lot more of us are making our own sexual decisions. That way, you don't get pushed around by your partner who wants you to do more," said Anna Bialek, 17, of Princeton, N.J. "Of course, that can work both ways." Whatever the reasons, teen pregnancies and births are down about a third nationwide from their peaks in 1991, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. If the 1991 rates had persisted, about 1.2 million more children would have been born to teen mothers by 2004, Congress' Joint Economic Committee estimated last year. "It's a big success story," said Dr. John Santelli, a Columbia University public health professor and the lead author of a recent analysis of the decline. He attributes about half the drop to teens saying no to intercourse. The other half, he said, is due to their using contraceptives more often and more efficiently. I don't know about you, but I think that's good news!