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Even so, some advocates of tougher enforcement of statutory rape laws say these laws are necessary to protect young women who are vulnerable to sexual coercion by older men. Opponents argue that such an approach might make matters worse, by discouraging sexually active and pregnant teenagers from seeking medical care if they fear having to reveal the identity and age of their partners; it might also discourage the fathers of babies born to teenage mothers from supporting and participating in the lives of their children.
The new analysis, "Can Statutory Rape Laws Be Effective in Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy?" by Patricia Donovan, senior associate for law and policy, The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), details the age of consent and statutory provisions prohibiting sex between minors and adults in each state. While all states prohibit sex between adults and youth in at least some circumstances, the laws vary greatly. Statutory rape laws have been on the books in every state for decades but are not usually enforced except in extreme circumstances. However, several states have taken steps in the last year to punish men who violate these laws. Further, the new federal welfare law urges that "states and local jurisdictions aggressively enforce statutory rape laws" and requires states' welfare plans to develop an educational program for law enforcement officials, counselors and educators focusing on "the problem of statutory rape." It also directs the attorney general to implement a program to study the link between statutory rape and teenage pregnancy, with a focus on "predatory older men."
"Public debate over using statutory rape laws to prevent teenage pregnancy has been framed largely in terms of so-called predatory older men who seek out young girls," notes author Donovan, who points out, however, that the incidence and prevalence of statutory rape are unknown. "Although a 1995 study published by The Alan Guttmacher Institute indicated that at least half of all babies born to minor women are fathered by adult men, it is important to make clear that no data are available on the age of the sexual partners of all sexually active teenaged women. Nor on the partners of the one in five sexually active teenagers who become pregnant each year. All we know is the age of the fathers of babies born to teenagers."
About 2% of teenage births are to girls under age 15; 40% of teenage births are to young women under age 18. Donovan notes that an overwhelming majority of pregnant teenagers who give birth are from disadvantaged families, most of whom face grim future prospects. Many see little reason to avoid pregnancy and postpone childbearing.
Determining the cause and effect relationship between certain laws and teenage sexual and reproductive behavior is difficult, if not impossible, considering the many factors contributing to these behaviors that cannot be measured. Also absent are key data on the state and local level about levels of sexual activity and contraceptive use-behaviors known to reduce unplanned pregnancy. Further, with declining national rates of teenage abortion and birth, the impact of a given law becomes even more obscure. For example, how would the same teenage pregnancy trends over a period of time in three states be accounted for if one state had a parental involvement law, one had a strictly enforced statutory rape law and one had neither?
The report is published in the January/February 1997 issue of Family Planning Perspectives, a bimonthly, peer-reviewed professional journal published by AGI.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute is a non-profit organization for reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C.
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