17 Massachusetts Students “Deliver” on Vow of Pregnancy
I have written a few posts on the subject of schools giving out birth control, in some cases without the parent’s approval and in some cases to children as young as eleven years old. Inevitably the argument is always made that kids are going to have sex anyway so why not make it safe? My argument is that by making birth control easily available you are in turn condoning and actually encouraging children to have sex. You are giving them a permission slip.
In Gloucester Massachusetts 17 girls, the oldest of which is 16 years old have taken a vow to become pregnant so that they can all raise their babies together. Isn’t that sweet? They followed through on it and are all now pregnant. One girl was impregnated by a 24 year old homeless man. (Who’s paying for this baby? I think we know)
I argue that this is actually an extension of my point that handing out birth control is encouraging sex. You have to remember that we are talking about children here, and children are not always thinking straight. As if that point really needed to be made. The point can easily be made that children who have been told that if they want birth control so that they can have sex without getting pregnant might begin to ask themselves, “what if I want a baby?”
Sex has already been approved by some of the people who are supposed to be looking out for our children, so the next logical step to a child not thinking straight could be, “if sex is okay for someone who doesn’t want a baby, then what about me? I want a baby.” And they take the next step. Which they did.
I understand that teenagers are going to have sex, I understand that these girls had no problem finding volunteers, but by encouraging sex through free birth control the problem is just expedited.
I believe these two issues are linked and I believe this is why you do not hand out free birth control to any child who asks for it.
America's Watchtower 
This is another article on the same topic:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1815845,00.html?cnn=yes
This article says that after the girls started turning up pregnant then a few school officials wanted to hand out birth control. When they couldn’t, then they resigned.
I think the only people at fault here are the girls, the boys who got them pregnant and their parents. Sex ed is something that should be started at home. It’s unfortunate many teenagers have to rely on school for it. In this scenario I don’t think the school handing out birth control or not had anything to do with the behaviour of these girls.
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you know, I never really agreed with the viewpoint that handing out birth control is linked to teenage pregnancy. this is because teenage pregnancy is not a new phenomenon and teenagers have been having sex for several generations now.
For the first time though, I’m beginning to think that offering the birth control has the unintended side effect of lowering the risk in the minds of teens. Kind of the same way that car accidents increased after the advent of the seat belt – people drive faster in and riskier manners because of the (false?) sense of security they get.
That said, I still think educating teens is best. And the best people to do it are the parents, who have really failed to step up across this country. Parents of all stripes. I remember being a teen, I was very sheltered but I remember my mindset. I am lucky I did not have the opportunity to do anything stupid.
Showing teens a little trust may help some, others will take advantage.
I really don’t understand why teenage girls would want to have babies and raise them together. I think we’d have to look at the environment these girls are in. Do they not have dreams and goals for their future? Do they come from backgrounds such that they’ve never seen positive examples? No one to encourage and mentor them?
This is really sad.
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It does start with the parents, you are right. Here in New Hampshire a minor girl can have an abortion without parental consent. I find this to be unacceptable. This same child can’t go on a field trip without a permission slip, but she can abort a baby and the parents will never know. I left the parent’s out because it seems to me that parental rights in America are being eroded. Many of these schools distribute birth control without the parent’s knowledge. Maybe that says something about the parents also.
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Is that so, you posted your comment as I was responding to Openletter. 🙂
I think you said it well though, teens see the risks lowered so they are wncouraged to participate in the activity that may otherwise think twice about. The parents do need to step up, and in some cases it is bad parenting, but in some cases the parents aren’t even aware of what is going on because of this right to privacy that school nurses now employ against the parents when their children come to them for birth control or abortion advice. The parents need to be told when their daughters are engaging in this type of activity.
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So, when exactly do you think it is fine to start making birth control easily available?
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When the child is no longer a child. When they are adults and they can BUY it.
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Excuse my ignorance here, but it seems to me that these girls WANTED to get pregnant , so the school offering/not offering control of births is a moot point. These girls weren’t looking for control as a way to cover up their wanton sex drives. They wanted living, breathing baby dolls that they could name Lexus, dress up like Barbies, and snuggle with at night. Their focus was so complete that no one even thought about the possibility of contracting and spreading sexually transmitted diseases THAT part is far more abhorrent to me than the school handing out condoms. It seems to me that education is not the problem here, common sense is.
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Maybe if the government stopped paying for women to have children, we would be better off. Having a child without the means to support it is child abuse IMO. The babies should be taken away and placed with people who can afford to raise a child and know the responsibilities.
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Jenn, my point was that because schools are handing out condoms it gives the impression that minors having sex is okay. It condones children having sex. By extention girls that want babies then feel that if sex is condoned than what is wrong with a minor having a baby. Common sense is the problem,you are right, kids that age don’t have any, so I think that once they feel that adults are condoning sex they could leap to the conclusion that having a baby is okay.
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I’m torn on this issue in so many ways.
First of all, I don’t want kids like this having sex. But then again I know a good percentage of them will and I really don’t want them having children (or abortions, for that matter). I think these kids think babies are dolls and “it’ll be so cool, to all have babies together”. They apparently don’t understand how much attention a child needs.
I’d be all for distributing contraception in the school if it meant kids wouldn’t be having kids. But apparently that isn’t the case here because these girls PURPOSELY got pregnant. I’m pretty sure that if they wanted to prevent a baby they could have gone to the nearest drugstore and bought themselves some condoms or whatever.
The problem is that teen girls are thinking it’s ok to have a baby without a father and they have no clue to what caring for a new human being 24/7 is like. Babies aren’t toys, you know.
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In the fall, I’ll make a petition to my school district to show teenagers how to use neddles in the safe way if they want to use drugs. Knowing that some do, why not teach them to do it safe, right? Or to have courses that teaches them how to use cocaine safely, too.
This new generation is desensibilitized and sexualized with all the sex outside the marriage being a wonderful thing. And that’s how we get a generation without morals that is willing to elect B. Hussein as the next president.
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Cristina, you just committed a slippery slope falasy.
Also, for crying out loud, he was not named after Saddam Hussein. Dislike the guy, don’t vote for him, whatever, but don’t make mountains out of molehills.
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Where is the falasy? Our kids are served with pill control and sex education because some may have sex and at least have safe sex.
Same, some may use drugs, so why not teach them how to use them safe?
Did I say that he was named after Saddam? I was just using his name.
Molehills? The democrats’ agenda is everywhere in public schools. They want the kids’ brain washed, and they succeded so good, that the new generation of voters don’t use logic and reasoning when they cast their vote for president. Didn’t history teach us that socialism/communism is a failure? Too stupid to look at that…..
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I think offering or not offering birth control is not the problem.
They wanted to get pregnant so they did, but I’m surprised that one of there friends did not say “Wait, I don’t think that is a good idea for the following reasons”. Teenagers are not ignorant in fact they are at times smarter than your average adult. Some just DO NOT CARE about the consequences. Most just live in the now.
I myself am a teen mom. I got pregnant on purpose at 14. I always was a straight A student, a goody two shoes, always did the right thing, but I had an awful home life. So I decided I would get pregnant and get married and I did.
My situation is different from these girls. Had my home life been normal I would have never gotten pregnant,I would have finished school, went on to college and followed my dreams.
However, I didn’t and my decision was best for me. I am now 19, had a second child, got my ged, and I plan on going to college next year.
That said I think the girls were wrong to do what they did and most of all I feel sorry for their children who will have to do without certain things.
But I hope and pray that even though they did put themselves in this position that these girls can get help because they are going to need it. My heart goes out to the parents also, no one wants their precious babies have babies themselves at such an early age.
Well, most wouldn’t , mine could care less
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Good luck Linda, I hope everything works out for you. It’s not too late to still follow your dreams.
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Thanks so much for your well wishes Mr. Pink Eyes.
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Mr. Pink Eyes and all who agree with him:
I was trying to find info on these girls and found your site. I was surprised to find yet another person who feels that withholding contraceptives will save teens from pre-marital sex. That is simply not true.
As was pointed out by Is that so?, teen pregnancy and pre-marital sex is NOT a new phenomen. It didn’t begin with people who lacked morals, nor did it begin with people who had access to birth control. It began with people who were not informed about their own bodies and the consequences of sexual activity (and not just meaning babies or STDs).
My problem with your opinion is that the school or the governement is doing something wrong. THE PARENTS ARE. When a child’s parents are not continually involved in their child’s life, they are giving that child permission to do whatever it is they please without consequence (and then when schools, police, etc become involved, they then teach the child, inadvertently, that it is the GOVT’s problem). The PARENTS should teach their chidren about their bodies, puberty, sex AND relationships, and if the PARENTS want their child to be safe, AFTER informing them about the possibe results of sexual activity, then the PARENTS can provide any type of birth control they see fit.
I didn’t have sex in high school. Condoms were readily available. And so was sex ed, to fill in the gap that our parents left. Please stop blaming everyone else and take some personal responsibility for the state of life in this country.
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Andrea@- Yes, parents have a ton of fault. But when the kids spend 7-8 hours in school, with a liberal agenda that teaches kids that parents are stupid and don’t know anything, it’s hard as a parent to make an impression for 2-3 hours in the evening. I can tell my kids to save sex for marriage all I want, then they will go to school and learn how to put a condom on a banana. Today a little lower, tomorrow we’ll have even lower standards.
How can I take responsability for the state of this country when I told my kids that homosexuality is wrong and they see their agenda promoted everywhere? How can I do that when I say to my kids that killing is wrong, but you see murderers walking free and praised? What more can I do?
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