Reports: Teen girls made pact to get pregnant
Friday, June 20, 2008 2:19 AM EDT
The Associated Press
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A pact made by a group of teens to get pregnant and raise their babies together is at least partly behind a sudden spike in pregnancies at Gloucester High School, school officials said. Principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine in a story published Wednesday that the girls confessed to making the pact after the school began investigating a rise in pregnancies that has left 17 girls at the school carrying a child. Normally, there are about four pregnancies a year at the school. Sullivan told Time that nearly half of the expecting students, none over 16, were involved. Sullivan said students were coming to the school clinic multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and "seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were."Some of the girls reacted to the news they were pregnant with high fives and plans for baby showers, Sullivan said.
One of the fathers "is a 24-year-old homeless guy," Sullivan told the magazine. Superintendent Christopher Farmer confirmed the deal to WBZ-TV, saying the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant." He said the girls are generally "girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life. "The first reports of the students' apparent plan to get pregnant were in the Gloucester Daily Times in March, when Sullivan said students were reporting that the girls were getting pregnant on purpose. The rash of pregnancies has shaken the seaside city about 30 miles north of Boston. Last month, two officials at the high school health center resigned to protest the resistance from the local hospital to the confidential distribution of contraceptives. The hospital administers the state money that funds the clinic.
OK, this story just makes me angry. We have raised a generation of kids that are handicapped by a victim mentality. And then, we, as adults feed right into it by saying that these poor girls "lack self esteem, and have a lack of love in their life". Blah, blah, blah..... This gives me a stomach ache! I guess it eases our social conscious to believe that these moms are actually innocent victims. Bless their little hearts- they have poor self esteems! Of course this excuses them from making a choice to get pregnant at a time when they are in no way equipped to raise a child.
So, where else can we lay blame???? We can't hold these poor innocent girls responsible. Let's see.... I know- this has happened because those wacko conservatives have stood in the way of passing out birth control in order to prevent teen pregnancies. Hmmm- don't think that works. Do you believe that this group of girls that wanted to get pregnant would have used birth control? And this wasn't about the sex anywaz, it was all about wanting a new little pet. Something cooler than a kitten- a baby person.
I have heard that the school has a daycare center. Maybe that's where we should lay the blame. The girls decided to get pregnant because having a daycare in school solves all of their parenting challenges (like how to buy diapers???) Or how about the parents of these loveless girls. I wonder if they were teen parents themselves. These parents did not love their daughters enough. This caused them to have "poor self esteem". If you don't feel good about yourself, it is only logical that you would want to go and have a baby in order to feel better.
Yes, society will seek to assign blame in a situation that doesn't make a bit of sense. But- if you are trying to figure out who or what to blame- why not ask the girls? They will tell you- they got pregnant because they wanted to get pregnant.
Another generation of victims will be born. When will it stop. When will we hold young people accountable for their actions and quit trying to justify their behavior. Society is the real victim of the decisions made by these girls. We are the ones that are going to end up supporting these children financially (the 14 year old child moms and their babies). I'll bet the majority of them will have pregnancy medicaid so that tax payers can pay for all the expenses related to their medical care and the labor and delivery process (and the epidural which prevents them from experiencing the pain that occurs as a result of the delivery process). And we will ultimately deal with the ramifications of children born to moms that are basically clueless.
I don't feel sorry for these girls. I feel sorry for their babies- the ultimate victims. They get to be raised by 14 year olds who are single moms and clueless as to what is involved in being a good parent. One of the most important elements of being a good parent is the ability to put your child's needs above your own. These girls only care about their own feelings. They are not thinking about how their babies are going feel as a result of the circumstances they will be delivered in to. These babies need stable families with moms and dads who are able to provide for their physical and emotional needs. They need families that are able to generate incomes that will prevent them from living lives of poverty. Families that have jobs that will put roofs over their heads and food in their stomachs (and diapers on their bottoms). Families that will teach them that you do not make choices solely based on feelings. That God has a plan for our lives and for procreation..... Unfortunately these poor babies will most likely not have any of this with their 14 year old moms. Now I am more sad than angry. Sad for the babies, angry at the moms!!!
Sigh.... Debbie
