As investigations and agonizing thought over the contributors to teen pregnancy in Arizona continue, I am led again to the role of Catholicism. The majority of pregnant teens and teen mothers in Arizona are Latina.
Again and again, I have heard from interviewees and internet reports that socioeconomic factors play a role in the numbers of girls who become pregnant each school year, but I wonder if it is more than just being broke. It is easy to look at the statistics for teen mothers and say the majority are poor Latinas, but poverty stricken is not all these girls are; they are also Catholic.
The Catholic faith is intertwined in such a way with Hispanic culture that the two cannot be separated. The Catholic faith teaches that using birth control is a sin. The Catholic faith teaches abstinence only in pre-marital sexual situations. Just like the federally funded school system. A correlation? Perhaps.
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