Teen Pregnancy and Parenting: Social and Ethical Issues. - book review

Adolescence, Summer, 2002

WONG, James, & CHECKLAND, David (Eds.). Teen Pregnancy and Parenting: Social and Ethical Issues. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. $18.95 (p), $45.00 (h).

Teen pregnancy and parenting are widely considered to be a social problem. These original essays, arising from a conference at Ryerson Polytechnic University, explore the many factors affecting how Canadian society responds to, and creates, the phenomenon of teen parenting. The contributors bring expertise from diverse disciplines, including education, social work, sociology, history, and philosophy, to address matters of social policy on the issue. The study's new findings, the interdisciplinary approach, and the Canadian focus make this unique gathering of facts and ideas an essential resource for students of sociology, health and women's studies, philosophy, urban youth culture, and public policy. Chapters include: teen parenting and Canadians' values; what do we know about unmarried mothers?; day-to-day ethical issues in the care of young parents and their children; "on my own"--a new discourse of dependence and independence from teen mothers; a critical feminist perspective on teen pregnancy and parenthood; teenage pregnancy--social construction?; how should we live?--some reflections on procreation; the construction of teen parenting and the decline of adoption; changing high-risk policies and programs to reduce high-risk sexual behaviors; a round-table discussion of teen parenting as a social and ethical issue; on choice, responsibility, and entitlement.