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M. Joycelyn Elders, MD; Alexa E. Albert, BA

JAMA. 1998;280:648-649.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

THE SLOW but steady decline in the US teen birth rate from 62.1 to 54.7 per 1000 between 1991 and 1996 is welcome news.¹ This represents an approximately 12% reduction during a time when adolescent sexual activity increased and the number of abortions decreased. Despite this decline, teen pregnancy is an all-too-common scenario for more than 800000 US adolescent girls each year.²

Pregnant adolescents first present to the teen health clinic, emergency department, or their pediatrician, complaining of amenorrhea, nausea, and fatigue for several weeks' duration. A urine test result is reported to be positive for pregnancy. Sheepishly, the teens admit to having had unprotected vaginal intercourse. What happens next?

Typically, the most pressing concern for teens and their clinicians becomes choosing from among the pregnancy outcome options, namely, abortion, parenting, or adoption. The teens may be quickly referred to either a . . . [Full Text of this Article]

From the University of Arkansas Medical School, Little Rock (Dr Elders), and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass (Ms Albert). Dr Elders was the former surgeon general of the United States.

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