Teenage Pregnancy - Annotated Bibliography Example

Teenage Pregnancy The purpose of this paper is to provide an annotated bibliography as a follow-up to the outline that I had prepared on the topic of teenage pregnancy. It is my belief that there is a significant economic burden placed onto the shoulders of teenagers who give birth that do not have a solid familial economic support system. As such this annotated bibliography will provide some information on what some other academic sources have to say about the issue. Moreover this paper will discuss the credibility of the outlined sources.

One of the first main points that should be covered in this paper is to highlight what exactly would be the outcomes of somebody were to not get an abortion. Kate Kerzinke outlined an effective paper on this topic in 2003 in the New York Times. The author identifies that there is a cycle associated with teenage pregnancy which is that a teenage girl gets pregnant, leavers their formal education, becomes dependant on welfare and in turn raises a child that herself becomes a teenage mother and then repeats the cycle.

Whilst this paper does not necessarily come directly from an academic journal it was published in the New York Times which is a fairly reputable publication. Moreover there may be a concern that the information is not the most current however for the purpose of this paper, the source will be used to discuss socioeconomic problems and not demographic trends so the information would remain up to date. The next source that will be examined I a paper that highlights where demographic trends are heading in regards to teenage abortion.

Bielski, 2010 was an excellent source for this information. His work which appeared in the Globe and Mail identified that the abortion rate droped by approximately 36.9% in Canada. Although it is the case that the focus of this research was in the Canadian Market, one could make the argument that Canada and The United States are nations that are not totally unlike each other. Moreover the article appeared in a newspaper and not an academic journal but much like the New York Times, the Globe and Mail is a respected article and as such is heavily scrutinized by the Canadian public.

Finally the trends highlighted in the publication are not self produced and as such represent findings that were presented in the Canadian Journal of Human sexuality which also presents information on the demographic changes in the United States of America. The next topic of information that will be covered is where the demographic trends of teenage pregnancy will be going in the near future. Stein (2011) published a piece in the Washington Post regarding how the economy had affected the abortion rate.

Again it is the case that this is a newspaper publication by the Washington Post is respected for its journalistic integrity. Stein identified that the number of women who had incomes below the federal poverty line increased approximately 60% according to information published in the Guttmacher institute. The is promising information for the purpose of my paper as it is my belief that women who do live beneath the poverty line could benefit from abortion as a means of securing a better future for themselves.

It is important to highlight that there are potential health problems associated from having an abortion performed. Smith & Pell (2001)outlined that there is the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes associated with first and second births. This article appeared in the British Medical Journal which is academic (Peer Reviewed) and as such does represent a credible information source. From this perspective it would represent an excellent academic source although the findings may provide some contrary arguments to my thesis statement.

The final article to be covered in this paper is by Elders et al (1990) which discussed the national perception on adolescent pregnancy. The publication appeared in the Berkley Law Journal which is peer reviewed and does represent a good academic source for the purpose of this paper. Although it is the case that the article was published in 1990 it is my belief that the discussions that were conducted in this paper are an excellent source for information on some of the moral objections to teenage pregnancy so for the purpose of my paper this is an excellent source of information.

References Bielski, Z. (May 26th 2010) Canada’s teen Birth and Abortion Rate Drops by 36.9%. The Globe and Mail. [online] Available at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/canadas-teen-birth-and-abortion-rate-drops-by-369-per-cent/article1581673/ Accessed on March 26th 2011. Elders, M. Joycelyn; Hui, Jennifer; Padilla, Steff (1990) Adolescent Pregnancy: Does the Nation Really Care. Berkeley Women’s Law Journal P 170. Kerzinke, K. (2003) 30 Years After Abortion Ruling, New Trends but the Old Debate.

New York Times [online] Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/us/30-years-after-abortion-ruling-new-trends-but-the-old-debate.html Accessed on March 26th 2011 Smith, G. & Pell, J. (June 4th 2001) Teenage pregnancy and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes associated with first and second births: population based retrospective cohort study. British Medical Journal. University of Cambridge, Rosie Hospital. Cambridge CB2 2SW Stein, R. (2010) Has the Recession Affected Abortion? The Washington Post.

[online] Available at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2010/05/has_the_recession_affected_abo.html Accessed on March 26th. 2011.