Jessica Sheets
202-478-8523
7/23/2009
(Washington, DC)- The role of personal responsibility in pregnancy planning and prevention is examined in the new book, Rethinking Responsibility: Reflections on Sex and Accountability. Released by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, the volume includes 29 essays written by leaders in their respective fields.
Contributors include:
- Leading media voices, such as syndicated columnist E.J. Dionne, radio talk show host Tom Joyner, and Will Saletan, National Correspondent, Slate.
- Leaders of national organizations, such as Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of LaRaza, and Roland Warren, President of the National Fatherhood Initiative.
- Religious leaders and thinkers such as Jim Wallis, President and CEO of Sojourners, Rev. Samuel Rodriquez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Fred Riley, Commissioner, LDS Family Services, Rev. Sterling Lands, Senior Pastor, Greater Calvary Baptist Church in Austin, TX, and Rev. Debra Haffner, Co-Founder and Executive Director, the Religious Institute.
- Individuals who have worked with or written extensively on teens and young adults, such as Michael Carrera, Director, The Children’s Aid Society Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, Elayne Bennett, President and Founder, Best Friends Foundation, Laura Sessions Stepp, Senior Media Fellow at The National Campaign, and Kay Hymowitz, the Manhattan Institute.
- Twenty-somethings, such as author Amber Madison and Cassandra Debenedetto, Founder, Anscobe Society, Princeton University.
"It will take a combination of responsible behavior and responsible polices to make lasting progress in reducing the nation’s high rates of teen and unplanned pregnancy," said Sarah Brown, CEO of The National Campaign. "In a modest way, we hope this collection of thought-provoking essays will help foster a national discussion about what personal responsibility means in the context of pregnancy planning and prevention."
At present, half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Among single women in their 20s, seven in ten pregnancies are described by women themselves as unplanned. Progress in reducing unplanned pregnancy among women of all ages has essentially halted and - although teen pregnancy and birth rates have declined dramatically since the early 1990s - the teen birth rate increased 5% between 2005 and 2007, the first increase after 14 straight years of declines.
Of course, the concept of personal responsibility, and even the term itself, means different things to different people. The essays in the Rethinking Responsibility volume explore such topics as:
- How personal responsibility is expressed in the context of pregnancy planning and whether men and women both share the same level of responsibility;
- How personal responsibility is taught and who should teach it;
- The connection—and disconnection—between personal and social responsibility;
- Non-marital childbearing; and
- Whether the United States is in need of a "second sexual revolution."
To learn more about teen and unplanned pregnancy, read excerpts from the essays or read the essays in their entirety, or to learn more about the authors, please visit the Rethinking Responsibility portal at www.TheNationalCampaign.org/responsibility
About The National Campaign. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan initiative supported almost entirely by private donations. Our mission is to promote values, behavior and policies that reduce both teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy among young adults. By increasing the proportion of children born into welcoming, intact families who are prepared to take on the demanding task of raising the next generation, our efforts will improve the well-being of children and strengthen the nation.
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