What's behind the all-time-low teen birth rate?

The U.S. teen birth rate is at an all-time low, according to new government data released last week.

The birth rate for teens has been falling since 1991, but recent analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found a notably steep drop in the last decade. Between 2006 and 2014, the teen birth rate fell 41 percent, from 41 teen births per 1,000 to 24.2. The CDC’s birth rate figures only include live births and do not account for miscarriages, stillbirths, or abortions.

Some experts say the drop is the result of less sex, more contraception, and more sex education. But that is not the whole story, said Adam Donyes, a certified biblical counselor who works exclusively with teens and young people. Donyes is the founder and president of Link Year, a one-year Christian program for post-high school teens. Teens are better at avoiding pregnancy today, he said, but that does not mean they are avoiding sexual activity, or the unhealthy consequences that accompany it.

“There is no way you can convince me today that sex is decreased among teenagers,” Donyes said. “The reality is that sex is more in our face than it ever has been in our history with ads, pornography, and culture.”

While some argue the use of pornography is leading to less sexual activity among teens, Donyes contends constant exposure to pornography only drives sexual behavior.

“In my work with a lot of Christian kids, pornography drives a sexual addiction that wants to manifest itself with the actual thing,” Donyes said. “Without pornography there is not as much curiosity.”

Although the CDC reports abortion rates for teens dropped during the same time period, an estimated 1-in-4 teen pregnancies ended in abortion in 2009, according to Pew Research. Abortion is still the primary reason a teen pregnancy does not end in a live birth, a fact that is “problematic and still a cause of great concern,” said Todd Wagner, pastor at Watermark Church in Dallas and founder of Life Center, a pro-life museum and advocacy center. Any program that pushes abortion as a viable “solution” to teen pregnancy is pushing a “second traumatic event” in the life of a teen, he said.

The CDC does note use of the so-called morning-after pill, which works by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg or causing an early abortion, is on the rise. The rate of sexually active teen girls who have used the drug rose from 8 percent in 2002 to 22 percent in 2013.

Despite dropping numbers of teen pregnancies, CDC data still found significant disparities. While the teen birth rate sank in every state and across every demographic, birth rates are still twice as high for Hispanic and African-American teens nationally compared to white teens. Counties with high teen birth rates were also clustered in the south and southwestern United States, especially in communities with high unemployment and less education.

The CDC advocates for developing prevention programs specific to communities. The agency pushes reproductive health services and effective contraception methods but does not mention abstinence education.

Despite drops, the U.S. teen birth rate remains seven times higher than in some developing countries, and teen pregnancy and childbirth cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $9 billion each year, according to CDC research.