New numbers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show nationwide, Arizona’s urban counties saw the biggest drops in teen birth rates between 2007 and 2015.
Maricopa and Pima counties saw a more than 50 percent decrease, while Arizona’s rural counties saw more modest drops.
Bre Thomas, CEO of the Arizona Family Health Partnership, said there’s a reason for that.
"To me, that is access to care. That is the ability to access reproductive health care that is the difference between the urban and the rural areas," Thomas said.
Thomas also points to the ability of young women to access timely information and medication as differences between urban and rural areas.
She said the state needs to focus on providing access to reproductive health care to teens outside the metro areas.
