‘They Want to Be Loved and Accepted’: Groups See Rise in Rate of Teen Pregnancies

By Angie Kinsey, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Aug. 19–Hope Unlimited Executive Director Karin Thomas is reminded of the problem wherever she goes. The problem is the rising number of pregnant middle school teens.

“They stop me at the grocery store and in the post office,” she said. “They want to know if their daughter can get a pregnancy test. Someone just brought in a 13-year-old for a pregnancy test. We get three a week. That is too many a week.”

Thomas said most sex education programs have targeted high school level girls.

Thomas said the problem is regional, and she did not pinpoint a certain school.

“Because of our (House of Hope) maternity home, we get so many calls from parents,” Thomas said. “This year I’ve gotten so many calls from parents of 13-, 14-, and 15-year-olds.”

According to the National Association of Elementary School Principals, one in 12 students in 2001 had a first sexual intercourse before age 13, and a quarter of all children have had sex by age 15.

“Now nobody is concerned enough with what’s happening in middle school,” Thomas said. “We’ve got to get involved and care enough about what’s happening to our young babies. We’re open about tobacco and alcohol, but no one is bold enough about teaching young people the consequences of premarital sex. Everyone freezes.”

Thomas said Hope Unlimited plans to start an afterschool program for middle school students on the advantages of remaining sexually pure. Boys and girls will be taught separately.

“Smaller groups leave a greater impact,” she said. “We want them to develop strong character so they will be excited to make the right choices. We want to help parents by offering resources. Students are being bombarded by things they hear and see from older teens, TV, music and computers.”

Kelly Walden, a youth leader at Family of God at Reidland (a Church of Christ), helped organize a Power of Purity retreat last year to keep teenage girls sexually abstinent.

“Most parents of 12-year-old girls haven’t sat down and talked to them yet,” she said. “Most of the girls in my youth group are virgins, but I don’t know if they would have been if we hadn’t gotten them before they were 8 years old.”

Hope Unlimited Board Chairwoman Carlann Harris said she also has heard that oral sex is becoming more popular among middle school students.

“They don’t think about AIDS and STDs,” Harris said. “Some have even quoted President Clinton as saying it’s not really sex. They all want to be loved and accepted.”

Cynthia Sutton, coordinator of the Teen Link Youth Service Center at Paducah Tilghman High School, said she is not aware of any pregnancies in the Paducah Public School system this school year, although she does work closely with teen moms who are in school.

Sutton said schools don’t have to report pregnancies to the health department, but try to refer students to health services.

“Mostly I hear about (pregnancies) by word-of-mouth,” Sutton said. “We always want to get in touch with the student and help her get the services she needs. We don’t want them to miss their credits.

“It is happening a lot more at younger ages. You would have never dreamed in a million years a sixth-grader would be having a baby, but it is happening.”

Charles Courtney, director of pupil personnel for McCracken County Schools, said he hasn’t noticed any more teen pregnancies of any age than usual.

“It’s always been an astronomical (problem),” he said. “We’ve always had illegitimate pregnancies. I don’t see any more than before.”

Thomas said Hope Unlimited needs money to help provide the free classes. The center recently cut its hours to a four-day work week because of a shortage of funds.

“If we have the money, we can do a lot for these kids,” Thomas said. “We cut back to four days, but we’re not cutting back any services. If a good portion of our community could support us $10 a month I don’t think they would ever miss the $10. We need a lot of people praying for this and to be willing to do something for young people and do something for the community.”

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