I found this article today and was kind of shocked by it. Not that teens are getting pregnant, but about this particular high school and the pact to get pregnant....
Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High
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
just~me
Contraceptives? What are
Contraceptives? What are they doing performing pregnancy tests? I didn't know schools could do that!
Paz
This is sad on so many
This is sad on so many levels.
Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.
This is extremely heart
This is extremely heart breaking. Not only are these babies being brought in to the world for all the wrong reasons but they will most likely go through life living below poverty, not having the benefits of two loving and commited parents (a homeless guy - yikes!) and I'm sure will feel themselves underloved. I'm not saying either that teenage parents can't be great parents (I was pregnant with my son at 17 and had him at 18), but this many young girls in one area will sure not help the situation. Boy one thing that sure stands out in my head is these girls made a pact to "get pregnant," I wonder how many of them will still be friends after the babies are born and reality sets in of what they decided to do.
"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."
This is what happens when
This is what happens when standards break down and as a society we decide to put personal gratification above EVERYTHING else. If you tell someone 'what you're doing is harmful to you, to your kids, and to society' then you are scolded for being 'judgemental' and pounded for trying to 'force your morals on everyone else.' So now we have NO common moral code, and this is what we end up with.
It's no coincidence that there are more of these stories every day: dad's leaving toddlers unattended, women selling their children for drugs, teenagers making sex and parenthood a game, etc. After all, America has swallowed the 'if it feels good, do it!' mentality --- with no regard to the long term consequences.
New to AZ --- still working out the kinks!
I applaud the school system
I applaud the school system for assisting those who have already become young mothers, but it sounds like it is time to do some more on the education front in regard to educating the young women in this community about all aspects of motherhood. It is apparent that motherhood has been glamorized to these girls and they do not have any clue about all that is involved in being a mother. If they did, there is no way they would trivialize getting pregnant as if it were a game.
It is time for the parent community and the school system come together to talk and figure out how best to address the situation to support the young people in this community and help brighten the future for all residents.
JuneSlager is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com, raising three children (ages 15, 14, & 11) in Northeast Phoenix.
Is this for real, it seems
Is this for real, it seems like it's ripe for snopes.com.
However, if we assume it's real, then providing birth control to the students is not going to prevent pregnancy in this case. That only works if the students don't want to get pregnant.
the article is from Time w/
the article is from Time w/ CNN. Written by Kimberley McLeod.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1815845,00.html
just~me
This blows me away. I grew
This blows me away. I grew up in a small town and I can not even begin to understand the thinking behind this. How sad for everyone. The girls, babies, families and the school. What if you are one of the girls who elected not to participate? Are you now the outcast?
I think they should have a class and show the girls who are not pregnant how your life really changes. I have seen on shows how they either use these computer babies that cry at all times of the day and night or some other way to get across that this is not a walk in the park.
Something needs to be done.
KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.
Speechless.
Speechless.
sure, fine, whatever
"Many of our young people
"Many of our young people are growing up directionless."
That says it all
New to AZ --- still working out the kinks!
It's so nice to hear stories
It's so nice to hear stories of girls setting and achieving their goals.
On a more serious note, how many times do we need to hear the refrain "I just wanted someone to love, and someone to love me"? Our need to be loved is strong; when we grow up with parents who are unable to love us as we are, we look for it in other places.
What is this world coming
What is this world coming too? Where are the parents? This is crazy. I will raise my daughter with good morals and ambitions! I would never want her to come home at 15 or any age and say Mom Im prego. OMG! I mean what mom wants to hear that?
Ness
I love this place called life. I live it to the fullest as if there was no tomorrow. A wise thought.. Its not how much you care but how much they know you care.
This is the AP story link:
This is the AP story link: http://arizonamoms.com/justformoms/reports-teen-girls-made-pact-to-get-p...
Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.
I hate all this blaming of
I hate all this blaming of the media. What about shows like Baby Borrowers that are trying to educate against this sort of thing. The media is the wrong place to blame, these girls clearly need attention.
I agree, the media can't
I agree, the media can't always be blamed.
I agree as well. When do we
I agree as well. When do we stop blaming the media and start taking responsibility for ourselves?
just~me
Today the paper says there
Today the paper says there may not have been an acutal pact, just a lot of girls who didn't have the vision or support to imagine themselves as more than young, single mothers, (no hope for supportive husbands, further education, interesting careers, etc.) so they decided to create the destiny they felt was inevitiable.
Couple this story with the article today that AZ has the 4th highest teen pregnancy rate, 25% of our 8th grade girls have had alcohol in the pat 30 days (higher percent than 8th grade boys) and one in 4 have and STD and I am really sad.
Lovemy4 is a discussion leader for North Central Phoenix, tired mother of 4 great kids and wife to one great husband.