Grand jury is a legal body empowered to conduct official proceedings and investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may compel the production of documents and compel sworn testimony of witnesses to appear before it.
Among the states, New Mexico had the highest teen pregnancy rate, in 2010, with 80 pregnancies per 1,000 women in the age group, followed by Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
3 This rate is projected to increase by 13% by the year 2015, resulting in a projected rate of 127 per 1,000. 4 Furthermore, the city of Houston has a high rate of repeat pregnancies. In 2008, Houston had a repeat pregnancy rate of 23%, compared with other major cities in the U.S., which ranged from 12% to 28%.5 Minority groups, in particular blacks and Hispanics, are disproportionately at-risk for teen pregnancy. Hispanics have the highest teen birth rates in the country, followed by black teens. High birth rates are indicative of even higher pregnancy rates, as not all pregnancies are carried to term. In fact, Texas has the fourth highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation at 101 per 1,000 teens ages 15-19, versus the national rate of 84 per 1,000.