COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – South Carolina’s teen birth rate has dropped by 67 percent over the last 25 years.
The state Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy reports the rate fell by 9 percent from 2015 to 2016, the latest data available.
Campaign CEO Beth De Santis says the 67 percent drop since 1991 is a “point of pride for our state.”
About 3,700 teens ages 15 to 19 gave birth last year. That compares to more than 9,700 teenagers giving birth in South Carolina in 1990.
The drop is most pronounced among black teens ages 15 to 17. Their birth rate has plummeted by 81 percent since 1991.
De Santis says that while the declines are impressive, “we recognize work must continue by all of us to maintain success.”
