Teen Pregnancy: Birth Control, Self-Control

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Some 1 million American teenagers get pregnant each year. The National Academy of Sciences last week endorsed a controversial way to alleviate the problem: make contraceptives and abortion available to teens through schools and public health clinics at little or no cost, and without requiring parental consent.

The academy's two-year study found no convincing evidence that contraceptives promote teen sex; nor are eager teenagers likely to heed advice to remain celibate. Predictably, the report was praised by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America but attacked by religious groups. Said Richard Doerflinger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops: "They're saying there's no way to educate kids to live better. They're proposing a counsel of despair."