Editorial
Address the root of
teen birth
If a recent congressional study is accurate, the problem
of teen-age pregnancy will continue to grow in epidemic
proportions. The billions of federal welfare dollars that sup
port women who gave birth as teen-agers would be better
spent in efforts to prevent unintended teen-age pregnancy.
The Select Committee on Children. Youth and Families
reported last week that “there is no focused approach to
solving the complex problems of teen pregnancy at any level
of government.” According to the survey, an estimated 1
million unwanted teen-age pregnancies occur each year in
the United States, resulting in 400.000 abortions and
500,000 births. 55 percent of the live births are to unwed
mothers.
Teens also have more complications during pregnancies
and births, and their children are more prone to illness, mor
tality, and physical and mental disabilities. Teen-agers have
more low-birth-weight babies than older women because of
poor nutrition and medical care early in their pregnancies.
Only about half of the girls who give birth before they
are 18 finish high school, compared to 96 percent of those
who have children later. The congressional researchers cited
an Urban League study that found that unmarried mothers
are more likely to live in poverty. This situation has led
many to claim that the “feminization of poverty” is a cycle
that begins with teen mothers — 71 percent of women under
30 who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children
had their first child as a teen-ager.
In addition, the economic situation has worsened tne
ability of young men to earn high wages, leaving them less
willing to assume responsibility for a family. Thus, the
number of unwed mothers has increased from 15 percent in
1960 to 55 percent in 1983.
Economic problems are compounded by women’s
wage-earning inferiority. If an adult female worker makes 60
cents for every dollar earned by her male counterpart, it is
important to note that teen-age girls make even less. In 1984.
65 percent of teen-age wage earners could not make enough
money to pull a single-income family with one child out of
poverty. And jobs themselves are scarce — the teen-age
unemployment rate is about 18 percent.
And federal AFDC and welfare rules promote the
fragmentation of potential families. Households in which a
male is present — regardless of his breadwinning status —*
receive little or no aid. Young families are encouraged to
separate because in many states, AFDC funds are a more
stable source of income than low-wage jobs.
The congressional study stressed that pregnancy
prevention programs like health education, and contracep
tion information and services “receive much less emphasis
than programs for already pregnant and parenting teens."
Indeed, recent studies have shown teen-agers in the United
States are misinformed or ignorant about sex itself, as well
as its ramifications.
Scholars at Johns Hopkins University found only one in
three sexually active teens 15 to 19 years old nationwide
uses birth control. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a research
affiliate of Planned Parenthood, reported the
United States is ranked near the top of industrialized nations
in teen birthrates.
Clearly, the vast sums spent by the government have not
eased the problem of teen pregnancies. A national program
promoting family planning would, over time, lower the rate
of teen-age pregnancies and lessen the demand for welfare
assistance. Without a shift of priorities in the form of
pregnancy prevention, the rise of poverty among women
and children will continue unchecked, as will the trend of
single-parent families.
On Feb. 7. the Emerald said
that the Onjgon Student Public
Interest. Research Croup should
be charged rent for its EMU .of
fice space. We disagree .
The purpose. of the Erb
Memorial Union is to augment
the educational opportunities of
students, encourage participa
tion in thecommunity. develop'
democratic principles and-!
ideals and complement campus
life. OSPIRG definitely fits that
descript ion. .Students here at .
the University .of . Oregon
created - OSPIRG in 1971 as a
way to enrich their education
while working on issues of con
cern to them.
Through OSPIRG. students
learn how to conduct research
on public-policy issues, com
pile that research jnto reports
and testimony, and present the
research to the media, to public
officials and to the community
at large. °
In short, students, through
OSPIRG, learn what it means to
be a responsible citizen in this
society, and in learning this,
they are able to have an impact
on public policy and the quality
Oregon Daily
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of life in’ Oregon.
For 15 year*, students at'this
University have supported
OSPIRG For 15 years, the. EMU
Board has seen OSPIRG as a stu
dent group 'and as a group en
titled, to rent-free spare, •
The EMU Board recently
changed* ijs< rental” policy, rp- -
qulring groups'like (iSJMKj, -1< * *
gq through an appeals-process'
in order to receive .rent-free of
fice, space. The Board's .inten
tion is to prqvide rent ;fren "space
to student groups.; During the
appeaI,' therefore, OSPIRG will
justify its status as a student
group and define its relation
ship to the purpose of the EMU.
OSPIRG in its very nature is a
student group. Because OSPIRG
is accountable to students
through the referendum process
and through a student-elected
governing board, we believe
that the group is entitled to rent
free space.
Each spring. OSPIRG
surveys the student body at the
U of O to determine the issues
students are concerned about.
Each spring, students elect a
local board to provide leader
ship. OSPIRG is a student group
because students control it.
OSPIRG is' a statewide stu
dent organization active on
many campuses in Oregon. This
allows students to pool
resources and work together on
a larger scale and makes
OSPIRG’s work effective. This
group of students maintains a
professional staff to aid students
in their research and teach them
valuable skills. Four students
from the University of Oregon
and representatives from other
campuses serve as directors of
the Oregon Student Public In
terest Research Group.
In 1983, these students form
ed another corporation, the
Oregon State Public Interest
Research Group, to allow the
citizens of Oregon the oppor
tunity to support the learning
experience of .students, “to ex
(land OSPIRG’s legU'latiyep.eo
gram'and .id inypl.ve* Oregon!*';
voters. in ' citizen ...pdU.Hcs'v
Citizens donate uwney.because
... they Ixdieve. the jyoVk -befog
dbne by students i*,linpartant'„
_ and they want-to see this Work
contlnue'tq-’grow.*
TfiV citizen cent ribiilio’ris. are
obtained 'through • cSjSPIRCI's
. canvass.-pfogram.; In 198.3;
• QSPlRCi- received permission
• ’ from "t he cha.tr of theEMU Hoard
to.run the iutnm^r canvass out
. of -Suite 1. Permisii^i was ob
tained from the Hoard the
following year as well. Several
members of the current board
have been aware of this practice
since then, as have other people
associated with the EMU. There
has never been a problem with
, this. Only recently has OSPIRG
been informed that this nractice
is inappropriate. If thi; Is the
case. OSPIRG will discontinue
running the canvass out of the
EMU.
This spring, as is prescribed
in the ASUO constitution,
OSPIRG will run a referendum
to determine student support
and ask for an increase in fun
ding. OSPIRG has always felt
that the decision to support
OSPIRG should be made by the
entire student body.
It is the opinion of the
Emerald that OSPIRG's funding
should be investigated. We
agree. All students should be
aware of the voice they have in
OSPIRG's operation, as well as
the control they exercise on
how OSPIRG's money is spent.
By Maureen Kirk
and Erik Nilsson
Maureen Kirk in a local
OSPtRG hoard chair and a
IJnlvarsity sophomore majoring
In English. Erik Nilsson is an
OSPIRG vice chair and a
University senior majoring in
computer science.