SR: Volume 30 Number 3

Current Issues Relating to Pregnancy and Parenting, Volume 30 Number 3

Articles are:

Let it Shine: Promoting School Success and Life Aspirations to Prevent School-Age Parenthood

States Implement 'Safe Surrender' Laws for People Who Give Up Their Babies

Asian Pacific Islander Subpopulations: A True Look at Teen Pregnancy

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families: Vital Strategy to Prevent Non-Marital Births

African American Mothers and Substance Abuse: Punishment Over Treatment?

Pregnancy and State Policies

Also in This Issue...

Fact Sheet: Teen Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion

Policy Update: "Bush Administration Releases 2003 Budget Proposal"

From the President: "Critical Issues About Pregnancy and Parenting"

From the Editor:

"Pregnancy Issues Cover Diverse Subjects: Gay Adoption, Unwanted Babies, and Racism"

Mac Edwards

My life partner Reggie and I have two very close gay friends who have been together for over 15 years and who have just adopted a baby Vietnamese boy-the first, they hope, of many children.

Since the state in which they reside does not allow gays to adopt, one friend adopted the baby that they call their own. Because they are not expecting the state to change its position on gay adoptions anytime soon, they are planning to move to a state that will allow both of them to adopt their baby and their future children.

It is a pleasure to see and feel the love that these men have for their newborn child. It is also a pleasure to see the love their parents have for their new grandson. We are proud to be a part of their lives.

On a related subject, we are happy to include in this SIECUS Report on "Current Issues Relating to Pregnancy and Parenting" an article on the announcement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) that it supports adoption by gays. Of particular significance, the APA report says that "the key factor in healthy child development has more to do with the quality of relationships within a family than with the particular family structure." It goes on to say that "children are better adjusted when their parents report greater relationship satisfaction, higher levels of love, and lower inter-parental conflict regardless of their parents' sexual orientation."

I have seen personal evidence of this with my friends. I am very much encouraged that the American Academy of Pediatrics has come out in support of gay adoptions.

NEW INFORMATION

This issue of the SIECUS Report is filled with other new information related to pregnancy and parenting.

To update you, we have included charts relating to state-by-state action on five subjects: (1) substance abuse by pregnant women, (2) infertility insurance coverage, (3) Medicaid family planning waivers, (4) minors' access to prenatal care, (5) "safe surrender"of infants, (6) human cloning, and (7) gay and lesbian adoption.

We have also developed a new SIECUS Fact Sheet on Teenage Pregnancy, Birth, and Abortion that provides numerous statistics proving that teenage pregnancy is an endemic public health issue in the United States despite the decline in pregnancies, births, and abortion rates over the past decade.

NEW ANALYSES

Many articles in this issue of the SIECUS Report also provide new analyses of a number of important subjects.

Carol Cassell, the director of Critical Pathways in Albuquerque, NM, examines the causes and consequences of parenthood and school achievement on both the teenage mother and her children in her article "Let It Shine: Promoting School Success and Life Aspirations to Prevent School-Age Parenthood." She also provides recommendations for preventing adolescent childbearing through programs that help young people overcome obstacles to school success and offer support for their life goals.

Next, Stacy Weibley, SIECUS senior public policy associate, writes in her article "States Implement 'Safe Surrender' Laws for People Who Give Up Their Babies" that never has the media brought to our attention as it has in recent years the number of infants left in dumpsters and elsewhere by distraught parents, many of them children themselves. She explains how this publicity has created a wave of laws that allows troubled parents to safely and anonymously surrender their child to a third party.

Then, Tracy Weitz, project director for the Center for Reproductive Health, Research, and Policy at the University of California at San Francisco, writes in her article "Asian Pacific Islander Subpopulations: A True Look at Teen Pregnancy" that Asian Pacific Islander (API) subpopulations are often ignored by public health campaigns, policymakers, and community services programs. She writes about her organization's collaborative project that informs policymakers of the need to provide resources to support teen pregnancy prevention efforts in the API subpopulation communities.

Next, Jodie Levin-Epstein, senior policy analyst on reproductive health at the Center for Law and Policy (CLASP) in Washington, DC, writes about the reauthorization of welfare reform in Washington. In her article, she urges legislators involved in the reauthorization process of the TANF program-Temporary Assistance to Needy Families-to support proven teenage pregnancy-prevention programs and to take a serious look at what's wrong with the restrictive abstinence-only-until-marriage education currently funded by the federal government.

Finally, Assata Zerai, assistant professor in the Sociology Department, and Rae Banks, assistant professor in African-American Studies, both at Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY, write in their article "Maternal Substance Abuse: Punishment over Treatment" that African-American mothers who are addicted to drugs-particularly crack-are often punished rather than treated for their addictions. The authors propose that the United States must take a serious look at the subject of gender, race, and class subordination if it wants to develop healthful and affirming policies to help these women become substance-free mothers.

PUBLIC POLICIES

President Bush has made no secret in recent months of his support of the federal government's funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage education programs that do little to educate teenagers about pregnancy prevention.

As readers will see in the article "Presidential Priorities: Bush Administration Releases 2003 Budget Proposal" by Bill Smith, SIECUS public policy director, the President's main goals are the promotion of marriage regardless of circumstances and an insistence upon abstinence for everyone else.

To provide an alternative to abstinence-only-until-marriage education, three members of the U.S. Congress-Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and James Greenwood (R-PA)-are the lead sponsors of the Family Life Education Act (HR3469) that proposes allocation of $100 million per year to sexuality education programs that teach scientifically sound programs that include both abstinence and contraception.

Such a law will help to reduce unwanted pregnancies, unwanted births, and abortions through information and education.

MORE THAN PREGNANCY

As we developed this issue of the SIECUS Report, we decided to broaden its focus to include more than pregnancy issues, and therefore, call it "Current Issues Relating to Pregnancy and Parenting."

As with so many issues relating to sexuality, discussions are not simple or easy. This SIECUS Report again proves that point. The issue of pregnancy brings up other important subjects such as adoption, abandonment, insurance, drug rehabilitation, and more.

We hope this SIECUS Report serves as a starting point for thoughtful discussions on these and other related subjects.