Teen girls get pregnant on purpose, to raise kids together

[southsider2k5]

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8...00.html?cnn=yes

 

Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High

Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2008 By KATHLEEN KINGSBURY

 

As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head.

 

The question of what to do next has divided this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006—the first increase in 15 years—Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control. In any case, many residents worry that the problem goes much deeper. The past decade has been difficult for this mostly white, mostly blue-collar city (pop. 30,000). In Gloucester, perched on scenic Cape Ann, the economy has always depended on a strong fishing industry. But in recent years, such jobs have all but disappeared overseas, and with them much of the community's wherewithal. "Families are broken," says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. "Many of our young people are growing up directionless."

 

The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."

 

The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. "We're proud to help the mothers stay in school," says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center.

 

But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High's student clinic, she and the clinic's medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts. Currently Gloucester teens must travel about 20 miles (30 km) to reach the nearest women's health clinic; younger girls have to get a ride or take the train and walk. But the notion of a school handing out birth control pills has met with hostility. Says Mayor Carolyn Kirk: "Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children." The pair resigned in protest on May 30.

 

Gloucester's elected school committee plans to vote later this summer on whether to provide contraceptives. But that won't do much to solve the issue of teens wanting to get pregnant. Says rising junior Kacia Lowe, who is a classmate of the pactmakers': "No one's offered them a better option." And better options may be a tall order in a city so uncertain of its future. —with reporting by Kimberley McLeod/New York

[Cali]

Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers.

 

Wow....Just, Wow.

[Jenksismyhero]

I think a part of sex-ed for teen girls should be a full, unedited viewing of a birth without meds, including testimonials about the pain and suffering related to it from the mothers. Maybe that'll work.

 

Seriously though, i'm not one to judge parents (as i'm only 26 and not close to being one yet), but wouldn't this be something you somehow teach your kid - "hey, having babies at 16 just isn't smart...."

 

 

[Steff]

I think a part of sex-ed for teen girls should be a full, unedited viewing of a birth without meds, including testimonials about the pain and suffering related to it from the mothers. Maybe that'll work.

 

Seriously though, i'm not one to judge parents (as i'm only 26 and not close to being one yet), but wouldn't this be something you somehow teach your kid - "hey, having babies at 16 just isn't smart...."

 

 

IMO, It's easy to teach them... it's reinforcing it that's the hard part. "Sex ed" isn't a one time "the birds and the bees" talk as I know a lot of parents who think it is. These days most teens grow up in 2 parent working households and a lot of parents just don't have time to keep track of what their kids are doing. And when you have kids learning about sex from eachother, tv, the internet, or the movies this is what happens.

 

As for making girls watch an unedited (I do believe an edited version is shown in elective sex ed classes), undrugged birth.. that wont do anything. They are smart enough to know that all they have to do is ask for drugs. Besides, the birth is the easy part of the big picture. Forcing them to take care of a newborn for 48 hours with no help would be a better, IMO.

[kapkomet]

IMO, It's easy to teach them... it's reinforcing it that's the hard part. "Sex ed" isn't a one time "the birds and the bees" talk as I know a lot of parents who think it is. These days most teens grow up in 2 parent working households and a lot of parents just don't have time to keep track of what their kids are doing. And when you have kids learning about sex from eachother, tv, the internet, or the movies this is what happens.

 

As for making girls watch an unedited (I do believe an edited version is shown in elective sex ed classes), undrugged birth.. that wont do anything. They are smart enough to know that all they have to do is ask for drugs. Besides, the birth is the easy part of the big picture. Forcing them to take care of a newborn for 48 hours with no help would be a better, IMO.

It's certainly a wake up call (literally) to have teenagers have to watch a baby for a week. That certainly hits the point home.

[bmags]

I'm sure they think their time babysitting is comparable.

[MHizzle85]

(I do believe an edited version is shown in elective sex ed classes)

Oh yes, I saw this video almost 9 years ago and I still remember it vividly.

[Brian]

I remember in 7th grade, they showed a video of a head crowning. I had nightmares.

[DrunkBomber]

If I ever have a daughter she isnt leaving the house. I honestly dont know what I would do if my 14/15 year old daughter had a baby with a 24 year old homeless man. This seems like a problem that will continue to get worse over time. I graduated high school in 2000 and can only recall a few pregnancies the whole 4 years. Actually, only one person from my group of friends from high school has a baby now. Something is terribly wrong when this many girls are trying to do something like this.

[Steff]

I'm sure they think their time babysitting is comparable.

 

 

Oh yes. A few hours with detailed instructions and pre-made bottles is completely comparable.

[Gregory Pratt]

It happens at my old HS, too. Not quite like this, with girls making pacts to raise their children together (WTF?) but I know several girls at my old HS are pregnant or have been pregnant and did it deliberately to feel "loved."

[Heads22]

Whatever happened to collecting stickers?

[DrunkBomber]

Whatever happened to collecting stickers?

Obviously the same thing that happened to the birth control patches

Edited June 20, 2008 by DrunkBomber

[BearSox]

teenage girls have turned into such sluts...

 

[GoodAsGould]

teenage girls have turned into such sluts...

 

And what does that make teenage guys?

[jackie hayes]

And what does that make teenage guys?

Given the fact that a 24-year old homeless guy was chosen over them, it probably makes them pretty damn frustrated.

[BigSqwert]

It's certainly a wake up call (literally) to have teenagers have to watch a baby for a week. That certainly hits the point home.

You need to check out comedian David Cross' bit about using the word "literally".

 

[southsider2k5]

It's certainly a wake up call (literally) to have teenagers have to watch a baby for a week. That certainly hits the point home.

 

I actually saw a reality show that might be interesting where they give babies to teenagers and film the hilarity. To me that is better birth control than any condom or pill could ever be.

[jackie hayes]

You need to check out comedian David Cross' bit about using the word "literally".

 

Aww, come on...that's pretty much right. It's not a phone call, but in the sense that the baby calling out wakes you up, it works. It's not like the NFL announcer saying that some running back is "literally falling apart on the field." (At which I did literally scream at the tv.)

[Soxy]

And what does that make teenage guys?

Thank you.

[BearSox]

And what does that make teenage guys?

Very opportunistic?

Edited June 20, 2008 by BearSox

[bmags]

Oh yes. A few hours with detailed instructions and pre-made bottles is completely comparable.

 

We aren't really dealing with rational persons here.

[RibbieRubarb]

Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers.

 

In a related story, the increased violence among animals in the local zoo has been blamed on the film "Kung Fu Panda"

[Steff]

We aren't really dealing with rational persons here.

 

 

No... really?

 

 

My response should have been green and included a :rolleyes. My bad.

[RibbieRubarb]

No... really?

My response should have been green and included a :rolleyes.

 

Pregancy Pacts with Freinds...Virginity Pacts with fathers...

How about "Finish School and Go to College" pacts?!?