Mississippi’s biggest problem: Teen Pregnancy

Mississippi’s biggest problem: Teen Pregnancy

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour recently sat down with a writer for The Associated Press to reflect on his two terms as governor.

Asked if he could snap his fingers and solve one problem in Mississippi, what would it be, Barbour, who leaves office at noon on Jan. 10, said, “Illegitimacy.”

In this day and time, “illegitimacy” is a term that has fallen out of favor because it stigmatizes a child born out of wedlock.

But whether it is called “illegitimacy” or “teen pregnancy,” Barbour was on the money by tying the issue to many of the state’s social ills.

“Nothing else is close,” Barbour said.

Commercial Appeal
12/30/11