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14
"What kind of fresh
start can there be for
us when half the next
generation will consist
of children who were
raised by children."
-Eieanor Holmes Norton,
former New York City
Human Rigbts
Commissioner
"We've got to make
kids understand the
disastrous social and
economic consequences
of early childbearing. ,,
-Dianche Bernstein,
former administrator of
New York City's Human
Resources Administration
missioner Eleanor Norton: "What
kind of fresh start can there be for
us when half the next generation
will consist of chi ldren wbo were
raised by children. These young–
sters, who should be our hope for
the future, are virtually guaran–
teed to grow up with problems of
the most severe kind.... T hey are
the ones most likely to become
truants and jobless, to be engaged
in violent crime. And yet we are
scarcely paying attention to the
problem."
To bave jobs for young adults,
every city has to have a family
institution that prepares people
for education and for these jobs.
Says Mrs. Norton, "There's no
way a city can maintain its viabil–
ity if the basic sub-unit, the fam–
ily, is not functioning at a stan–
dard leve!."
"We've got to make kids under–
stand the disastrous social and
economic consequences of early
childbearing," says Blanche Bern–
stein, former admin istrator of
New York City's Human Re–
sources Administration. She erri–
phasized that 40 percent of fami–
lies in the United States headed
by women are classified as poor,
while only 7 percent of intact
families-those with two par–
ents-are so classified.
Poverty can have a variety of
causes. But one cannot fully under–
stand poverty in the United States
and many other areas of the world
unless one faces the great part
p/ayed by sexual immorality,
which undermines families befare
they've even begun!
Perpetuating Poverty
The story of many out-of-wedlock
bi rths follows a familiar script: A
girl desires attention, fears losing a
boyfriend, or wants to escape an
unhappy home or personal situa–
tion; she meets a fellow, is induced
to get sexually involved and often
unexpectedly discovers she has
become pregnant.
She then is forced to drop out
of scbool (80 percent of girls in
the U n i ted States d o ) . The
fathering male rejects responsibi l–
ity for the baby or the mother
(around 90 percen t of unwed
teenage fathers do). Tbe pregnant
female real izes the fatber is too
immature to be a stable husband
and provider.
Without a working husband to
provide income and share responsi–
bility, the child-mother is trapped
at home with her baby. She gener–
ally cannot return to school. She
cannot readily learn a skill. So she
turns to welfare for support. A few
turn to prostitution. Others will
live with any man who provides
partía! assistance.
T h us for millions of unwed
mothers and their illegitimate off–
spring begins a vicious, self-perpet–
uating poverty cycle-a life of
social dependency, lack of proper
education, lack of social progress
and little hope for anything bet–
ter.
Sorne young women and fat hers
do feel obligated to marry for the
sake of the baby. But often they
are immature and ill-prepared for
marital and fami ly responsibi lities.
The young man may have to cur–
tail bis education and get a full–
time job. Soon the young father or
mother starts to feel t rapped by
the situation. Many become
resentful at losing tbeir youthful
fun, opportunities and freedom.
Tensions and frustrations cause
f requent family str ife. D ivorce
splits a high percentage of these
forced marriages. T eenagers are
three times more likely to break
up than couples married in their
20s.
Destruct ion of t he Fami ly
The undermining of the family unit
as a result of rapid acceptance of
permissive sexual behavior is only
one of a growing list of evils that
nations and communities now have
to contend with .
Sexual permissiveness has forced
governments to greatly expand
their welfare systems. T hrough tax–
ation every citizen is forced to sup–
port sexual indiscretion.
Government assistance is truly
needed to help persons fallen into
serious deprivations or who have
made mistakes. But many persons
take continuous advantage of gov–
ernmen t help. In sexually permis–
sive social climates most feel they
don't need to change their loose
ways of living. Instead welfare is
used as a way to gain indepen-
(Continued on page 37)
The PLAIN TRUTH