Jab #2

More than half of Latinas get pregnant before they are 20.

There are a laundry list of reasons for this: the Latin population is generally poorer, less educated, more religious, and carries different social values than the rest of American society. These reasons are not excuses, but the cause of the high pregnancy rate (82 per 1,000 Latin teens give birth between 15-19). Latin culture is extremely macho. In many cases the concern with appearing macho overrides anything else, including rational thought. It's the real life version of Dave Chapelle's "Keeping it Real" sketches. The lack of education is a cycle - 69% of Latina teen mothers drop out of high school, which in turn means they can't support their multiple children, which in turn grow up poor and also do poorly in school (the single largest indicator of a student's success is their socio-economic status). A highly religious culture means students are less likely to use contraception and even less likely to get an abortion. And because Latin culture places more value on family than anything else, including education, there is always the safety net to fall back on when dropping out of school, making the loss of education seem less important in the immediate, but of course that has enormous long term consequences. This pattern has been seen before - when the Irish came over, they were cranking out babies as fast as their Catholic lust would allow. But that was 200 years ago - this is no longer an agricultural society. You must have an education in order get by in this world, and the current cycle of Latin teen pregnancy is troublesome because it makes up such a significant portion of the population. Of the 45 million Latinos in the U.S., barely half have a high school diploma. In 2025, Latinos will make up a quarter of the population - will they be a prepared?