When people use the term “personal responsibility” in the context of
teen pregnancy, they usually refer exclusively to the teen girl’s
responsibility not to get pregnant. And surely, that’s a critical part
of the equation. Young Latinas are becoming pregnant in growing
numbers, and they, more than anyone else, bear the burden of seeing their dreams for success slowed to a crawl, or come to a screeching
halt.

But research shows, and we know from our own
experience, that every individual within every community is
interdependent. Teen pregnancy has serious consequences for the mother,
her children, her family, her neighbors, and, indeed, for the entire
society. Therefore, it is logical to involve the whole community in the
effort to address the problem.

Supporting a broader sense
of individual self-worth and personal aspirations is the beginning.
There is no reason why the young women in our community should have
narrower hopes and dreams than their non-Hispanic peers. The ambitions
of young Latina women should include advanced education and successful
careers, and not be limited to fulfi lling certain fi xed roles. Too
often, however, even their own family members don’t do enough to help
them to see and follow the pathways to future success. We cannot force
young women to appreciate the great opportunities they have, but we can
help remove barriers, including those first established within the
family.

Until recently, teen pregnancy rates had been
falling steadily, in part as a result of aggressive outreach campaigns.
But because few such campaigns target Latinos, not enough of them are
receiving messages encouraging them to aim high and helping them to
understand how to reach their goals. It’s not that difficult to engage
this population, as a result of unprecedented access to media and the Internet, even immigrant Latinas are embracing — some would say too
readily — American pop culture. The problem is that we haven’t tried
hard enough to include young Hispanic women, as well as men, in teen
pregnancy prevention efforts. And perhaps Latino organizations haven’t
done enough either.

Teen
pregnancy rarely makes the list of top Hispanic organizational
priorities. We must do better and I feel a personal responsibility to
elevate this issue on our community’s agenda. But if we’re going to see
our young Latinas reach their full potential, they must believe that
they can dare to dream big dreams and that we’re all in this together
when it comes to making those dreams come true.