June 20, 2008
A group of teenage girls in Gloucester, Mass., made a pact to get pregnant and raise their children together, according to a Time magazine story that came out yesterday.
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re pregnant girls... I have to wonder if it's not time to go back to unwed motherhood being shameful? Permits to procreate (applied via chemical sterilization of men?)? Confiscation of children born to minors?
It's vaguely newsy in that so many decided to do it at once, but this is hardly uncommon. My college girlfriend made a deliberate choice to get pregnant when she was 13, just after her father died. Luckily, she had a large and supportive family, so she and her son came out okay, but regardless, this isn't a new concept.
Perhaps it makes sense. Since the highschool has a free daycare program, by the time these ladies enter the workplace, their kids are school ready.
You know something: you want unconditional love? Get a puppy.
More schools need to get on board when it comes to talking about sex, abortion, adoption, contraception, STIs with pictures, and abstinence. Let's not be blind- this happens all the time and regardless of why, we need to educate the future of this country, to ensure their future!
They should have watched Baby Borrowers on BBC (now NBC). That would have scared them for real.
@Stephanie Richard, you presume that their high school hasn't taught them all of these things. From the few times I can stomach watching the coverage on this story, the school gave the standard boiler-plate "comprehensive sex education."
Now, I'm certainly on-board with re-examining what constitutes "comprehensive" --or "education" for that matter. I don't believe, however, that these girls didn't get educated on the consequences.
Though these girls may be physically mature enough to get pregnant, it seems that their cerebral gear boxes are still stuck on stupid.
I for one am not a great fan of pawing off children to daycares which are often heavily subsidized, I think it minimizes the impact of having children on people and they are seen as an accessory rather than a real commitment.
Advocating permits to procreate or chemical intervention is not the way to go, in my opinion, because it is such a blanket, de-reponsibilizing policy.
And then I'm just sad for these girls. My ex-wife had her first child at 17, and she was a very bright individual who was just forced out of school to support herself and ended up in a downward spiral. I'm sure there is something more constructive that we can do, rather than call them stupid, we, all of us, just have to figure out what.
Where is the vilification of these girls? Where are the fathers? What is the legal age in Mass.?
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