Justice
The New Geography of Teen Mothers
A look at why birth rates vary so dramatically across states.
This week, we've been exploring the inequality of access to last-resort birth prevention measures. We know that teen birth rates in this country are still far too high, with 34.2 out of every 1,000 teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 becoming mothers. Nonetheless, states are continuing to restrict abortion, and easy access to emergency contraception is still a matter of debate.
Today, we turn to state-level data on the rates of teen births. The Martin Prosperity Institute's Zara Matheson charts the patterns for teen birth to gain insight to who, and where, stands to benefit or lose the most by increased access to abortions as well as emergency contraception.