(March 30, 2001) — Every morning, beaming rays of sun greet and illuminate the faces of more than a quarter million newborn babies. Most of these babies suffer low birth weight, are more likely to perform poorly in school and are at a higher risk of abuse and neglect. These babies are born to teens, teens like Jenny. Jenny is sixteen and pregnant. She never thought anything would happen. She had always been responsible, but this time even that wasn’t enough. Despite her young age, she isn’t alone. One in ten girls in the United States becomes pregnant at least once before they reach 20, according to www.letsgetreal.org . More than 90 percent of teenage males agree that one should not have sex without contraception, that sexual partners should discuss contraception and that males should be responsible for children they bring into the world. Yet less than half of adolescent fathers see their children every day. Fewer than one in five see their children either a few times per month or less than once a month, according to Families in Society. Sophomore Kurando Honjo says, “I’d rather run away because it’s easier than taking responsibility, but I wouldn’t do that.” With or without male involvement, Jenny still faces many obstacles. She now faces difficult choices about school, family and her future—choices she wouldn’t have encountered had she not been pregnant. With these choices in mind, she can be part of the 30 percent who choose abortion, the 56 percent who choose to give birth or the 14 percent who have miscarriages, according to Alan Guttmacher Institue (AGI). If Jenny decides to go through with the pregnancy, her baby will be part of the 13 percent of all U.S. births to a teenager. Every year, approximately one million babies are born to teenagers. Whatever her decisions are, she needs support. Sophomore Agustin Garcia said that he would take total responsibility if he got a girl pregnant and “would probably drop out of school and get a job to support them.” Jenny’s pregnancy, like eight in ten teenage pregnancies, was unintended. Additionally, 79 percent of teen pregnancy births are to unmarried teens. National Geographic predicts that if adolescent girls “delay their first baby by five years, it would mean 1.2 billion fewer people by the year 2100.” “It takes two for a pregnancy, never one. Too many times, the fingers are pointed at the woman,” senior Elaine Suh says. According to National Geographic, “Studies show that men are generally reluctant to use methods that directly involve them—abstinence, condoms, the rhythm method and withdrawal.” Taking that one extra step could prevent dozens of problems. Methods used to prevent pregnancies include contraceptives such as diaphragms and condoms. Contraception’s use among teens has increased, but still remains inconsistent. A sexually active teen who does not use a contraceptive has a 90 percent chance of pregnancy within one year. It should be noted that there is not one contraceptive that is 100 percent effective. When a contraceptive fails and a girl gets pregnant, freshman Jonathan Lee said that he would tell the girl to “get rid of the baby, for sure.” On the other hand, freshman Natalie Ohanesian entirely disagrees. “I would talk to one of my close friends and keep the baby. I’m totally against abortion.” Along with the high rates of teen abortions, these pregnancies also take a toll on our economy. The U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world; teen pregnancy costs the U.S. more than $7 billion annually, according to AGI. Eighty percent of unmarried moms go on welfare. There are still teens in this world who are not sexually active. The main reason, given by non-sexually active teens, is because of moral or religious beliefs. Junior Alex Moon says, “Children want to grow up too fast and they make mistakes. Pregnancies cause teens to sacrifice their whole lives for the child and it becomes hard to maintain their own lives.” Some girls admit that men have proclaimed their love many times, but in actuality only used the girls for sex. “It’s all about a level of insecurity of dependency,” adds Moon. The sun rises and sets on a new set of babies each day, for better and for worse. Some mothers neglect their children, others love their babies with the deepest part of their souls. One 16-year-old mom says, “We all say, ‘It’s never going to happen to me.’ It just happens. If you’re going to have sex, take care.”