Teen Birth And Abortion Rates Falling In Canada

A study on teen pregnancy finds the teen birth-abortion rate has fallen in Canada over a 10-year period, to a greater extent than in the United States and parts of the U.K.

The rate fell almost 37 per cent in Canada from 1996 to 2006, compared to drops of 25 per cent in the U.S. and 4.75 per cent in England and Wales, and a rise of 19 per cent in Sweden.

The study says the teen birth-abortion rate per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 in Canada was 27.9 in 2006, compared to 61.2 in the U.S.

Only four countries were studied, but research co-ordinator Alexander McKay says teen pregnancy rates in the western world have been declining since the mid-1970s.

He says there’s greater use of condoms and the birth control pill and, in general, young women who are feeling optimistic about their futures tend to delay childbearing.

The study was published today in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. 

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