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Article: Battling teen pregnancy: Rates are down, but the problem has a high price tag.
- Article from:
- Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, TN)
- Article date:
- March 11, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Chattanooga Times/Free Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Beverly A. Carroll
Mar. 11--When a teenager becomes pregnant, it's a private matter.
But teen pregnancy can become a social problem with a high public price tag, starting with prenatal care and continuing as the child of a teen mother grows into adulthood, according to a recent study.
A report from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found that births to teenage mothers in Tennessee cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Teen childbearing in 2004 cost at least $181 million, and more than half of those costs, 61 percent, are borne by state and local governments, the recent report showed.
"There is a long-term cost," ...