In 2013, the New York City Human Resources Administration ran a public education campaign aiming to reduce teenage pregnancy and birthrate.  Posters such as the ones below appeared throughout the New York City public transportation system.

          

The creators of the campaign linked graduation and marriage rates and poverty levels as dependent on the age one becomes a parent.  The overwhelmingly strong message is that if one has a child while a teenager, one’s chances for economic wellbeing are reduced.  Contrary to this claim, a 2012 study by economists Melissa Schettini Kearney and Phillip B. Levine demonstrates that “teen childbearing has very little, if any, direct negative economic consequences.”  In addition, low expectations of economic mobility lead young women to have children earlier.

What this public education campaign failed to provide is education. There was no mention of how to obtain information regarding sexuality, reproduction, contraceptive tools, how to access resources that help one parent without dropping out of high school or becoming downwardly mobile.  Moreover, this campaign is advocating abortion as a method of contraception.  By targeting teenagers with messages such as “Honestly mom… Chances are he won’t stay with you. What happens to me?” spoken by a concerned toddler, the campaign is targeting those who are already pregnant and contemplating whether to carry the pregnancy to term.  Instead, the campaign brought more shame on the teen parents who already have difficulties accessing resources necessary for positive health outcomes for themselves and their children.  As Natasha, a teen mother, pointed out on the Push Back blog for parenting teens,

“As a teen mom, my life has seen some insanely high peaks of hell and it wasn’t because of my pregnancy or motherhood, it was because of the crappy experiences I had to endure with people who were (and still are) judgmental and bitter.  When I wanted to apply for college in high school, my guidance counselor told me not to bother – that I should focus on trying to graduate high school first and apply to a community college IF that even happened.”

Natasha’s response to this campaign clearly indicates that what teens need is not another helping of shame for having sex and being pregnant.  What they need is support.