Teen birth rates fall to an all-time low — for a surprising reason

Teen pregnancy rates are now lower than ever before, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention out Thursday reveals, and it's not for the reason popular culture might lead you to suspect. While analysts do attribute the stark drop in teen birth rates — with, notably, a nearly 50 percent drop among Hispanic and black teens in particular — to better access to more effective contraception, they also contend that teens today are simply having less sex. The Washington Post reports:

All in all, in the last 23 years teen birth rates have plummeted by 60 percent. In 1991, teen birth rates were 61.9 per 1,000. In 2014, teen pregnancies hit a low of 24.2 births per 1,000.

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