Pregnancy and abortion counseling

Changing societal attitudes toward sexuality have resulted in adolescent sexual behavior that has produced, with increasing frequency in recent years, two serious consequences: pregnancy and abortion. Among teenagers there are an estimated one million pregnancies annually, one third of which end in abortion. Therefore, the frequency with which pediatricians may encounter pregnancy and abortion is high, and the reality of having to deal with these problems must be appreciated. The Committee on Adolescence has prepared this statement with three guiding principles: it must represent an unbiased guide to Academy Fellows faced with the problems of adolescent pregnancy and abortion; none of the options offered can be universally preferred and, indeed, all carry the potential for considerable disability; and the individuality of the pediatrician, the adolescent patient, other concerned individuals, and their cumulative working decision must be preserved and given adequate freedom of action.