THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250297
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 25 lines
The teen birth rate declined in 1994 for the third straight year, the government reported Monday.
The birth rate for 15- to 19-year-olds dropped from 59.6 births per 1,000 in 1993 to 58.9 per 1,000 in 1994, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
``This is another piece of good news in the battle against teen pregnancy, but we still have a long way to go,'' said Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. The Clinton administration has asked Congress for $30 million to start a new teen pregnancy prevention campaign.
Despite the decline, the 1994 rate was still higher than in any year during the period from 1974 to 1989, said the report by the National Center for Health Statistics, an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Overall, births declined for the fourth straight year in 1994 to 3,952,767, said the report. That was 15.2 births per 1,000 total population, the lowest rate since 1978. Fertility rates were highest for Hispanic and black women.
KEYWORDS: TEENAGERS BIRTH RATE by CNB