High schoolers make "Pregnant Pact"

[MrBug708]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/us...tml?ref=health

BOSTON — At least 17 girls at the public high school in the seaside town of Gloucester, Mass., are expecting babies, and a Time magazine report says nearly half became pregnant after making a pact to do so and raise the children together.


Local officials reached Thursday would not confirm the existence of such a pact but acknowledged that many of the 17 pregnancies — a total four times as many as last school year at the 1,200-student school — had been intentional.

“I’ve heard some of them were not accidents; some of them were pleased when they got the results,” said Greg Verga, a member of the Gloucester School Committee. “I did hear that there were cases where a teen went in several times for pregnancy tests and seemed depressed when it was negative.”

Joseph Sullivan, the principal of the school, Gloucester High, could not be reached for comment. But Time quoted him as saying that of the pregnant students, almost half, none older than 16, had engaged in the pact.

Reached on Thursday, Mayor Carolyn Kirk said the existence of such an agreement was “believable, in the sense that it would explain this spike” in teenage pregnancies.

Ms. Kirk, a member of the school committee, also said that some of those who impregnated the students were men in their mid-20s.

Gloucester is a fishing town of 30,000 that is encountering hardships with the decline of the fishing industry.

“This is a city in transition going through a hard economic time,” Ms. Kirk said. “There are cuts in economic programs, cuts in services, cuts in after-school programs, and they’re all impacting the social climate. We really let these kids down.”

“It’s the social environment these girls are coming from,” she added. “They think that a baby can give them love or give them status or fill an empty space in their life, and these girls are very, very young. And I think if you talk to any teenage mother who is caring for an infant, the road is not easy.”

The surge in teenage pregnancy has brought a heated debate over contraception and education in Gloucester, which is heavily Roman Catholic. The school clinic’s medical director and its chief nurse practitioner both resigned in May after the hospital that administers grants for the clinic opposed making contraceptives available to students.

The clinic does not distribute contraceptives, and Gloucester High School’s health curriculum has been cut for budget reasons, meaning there is no sex education, Ms. Kirk said.

Meanwhile, in addition to the 17 girls known to be pregnant, others continue to arrive at the clinic asking for pregnancy tests.

The school committee is now considering educational programs on teenage pregnancy and weighing whether the clinic should distribute contraceptives. Mayor Kirk has instructed her health director to compile information about the issue from the state, other agencies and independent experts. She said the committee hoped to have a policy regarding education, contraception and related services in place by the start of the next school year.

“It’s very complicated,” she said. “There are many layers, and I am insisting on a process where the school committee can explore all of the layers, get good information, find out what works in other communities and come to a good decision on behalf of our children.”

[Greyroofoo]

17 more babies on welfare, yay.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Greyroofoo

17 more babies on welfare, yay.

They'll be alcoholics and poppin' OC's too if they're from the North Shore.

[Eaglesfan27]

“It’s the social environment these girls are coming from,” she added. “They think that a baby can give them love or give them status or fill an empty space in their life, and these girls are very, very young.


That line stood out to me. I'm amazed at how many teenager girls of all races and socioeconomic classes I treat who want to get pregnant.

[Dr. Sak]

I made a pact to get laid on prom night. Too bad my date didn't agree to the pact.

[KWhit]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

“It’s the social environment these girls are coming from,” she added. “They think that a baby can give them love or give them status or fill an empty space in their life, and these girls are very, very young.


That line stood out to me. I'm amazed at how many teenager girls of all races and socioeconomic classes I treat who want to get pregnant.

Give them status?!?!

The teens who got pregnant in my high school were totally ostracised and their status was shit.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Give them status?!?!

The teens who got pregnant in my high school were totally ostracised and their status was shit.

Same here from when I was in high school. It's a different world now. Although most of the girls I referenced either had absentee parents, or felt their parents were absent.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by bsak16

I made a pact to get laid on prom night. Too bad my date didn't agree to the pact.

maybe he was very shy?

[BrianD]

I'd like to point out that the article talking about contraceptive education and the school handing out contraceptives is completely misplaced in this article. If the girls are trying to get pregnant and going to non-students to do it...schools giving out contraceptives won't help.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by BrianD

I'd like to point out that the article talking about contraceptive education and the school handing out contraceptives is completely misplaced in this article. If the girls are trying to get pregnant and going to non-students to do it...schools giving out contraceptives won't help.

Yup. Someone's trying to get a political statement in there...

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by BrianD

I'd like to point out that the article talking about contraceptive education and the school handing out contraceptives is completely misplaced in this article. If the girls are trying to get pregnant and going to non-students to do it...schools giving out contraceptives won't help.

A credible sex education program does help.

[Eaglesfan27]

Not if the girls want to get pregnant.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

A credible sex education program does help.

How far does sex education usually go? Clearly these girls knew what they were doing and they knew the ramifications of what they were doing. Is sex education going to teach these girls that a baby won't fix their self-esteem issues?

[path12]

Originally Posted by BrianD

Is sex education going to teach these girls that a baby won't fix their self-esteem issues?

If it's done right, yes.

[BrianD]

That seems like a heavy burden for a gym teacher.

[ArlingtonColt]

I blame Jamie Lynn Spears

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

maybe he was very shy?

[rowech]

Originally Posted by ArlingtonColt

I blame Jamie Lynn Spears

You beat me to it. The press has glorified her to no end.

[Maple Leafs]

BOSTON — At least 17 girls at the public high school in the seaside town of Gloucester, Mass., are expecting babies

At the time, it probably seemed like a good idea to have Tom Brady visit your high school.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by ArlingtonColt

I blame Jamie Lynn Spears

Zoey 101.

[molson]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

A credible sex education program does help.

Or it might just help them pin down the best day of the month to do it.

But it might be helpful to follow the lives of these girls around for the next few years and incorporate the class.

All this assumes high school kids give a shit about classes at all, which they usually don't.

[Dr. Sak]

Something like this would never have happened at a school like Bayside or West Beverly.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Something like this would never have happened at a school like Bayside

it would've if i went there

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

At the time, it probably seemed like a good idea to have Tom Brady visit your high school.

Looks like he still found his way to the endzone a few times in the offseason.

[Pumpy Tudors]

When I was 11, I made a pact with 17 high school girls to get them pregnant. For some reason, my mom didn't agree to the pact, and she took me out of school and homeschooled me from that point forward.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

When I was 11, I made a pact with 17 high school girls to get them pregnant. For some reason, my mom didn't agree to the pact, and she took me out of school and homeschooled me from that point forward.

Then she decided to make it up to you when you were 21. She took you to a bar and had a male stripper dance in front of you!

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Then she decided to make it up to you when you were 21. She took you to a bar and had a male stripper dance in front of you!

Whatever it is I think I see becomes a fluorescent green banana to me.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

At the time, it probably seemed like a good idea to have Tom Brady visit your high school.

LOL

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Give them status?!?!

The teens who got pregnant in my high school were totally ostracised and their status was shit.

Well, that was in 1932...

[Anthony]

man, picturing all these young girls having sex and getting knocked up is hot. mmmmmm.

[Anthony]

btw:

1. crazy wild chick Angelina Jolie, who once carried a vile of her husband's blood around her neck, is considered humanitarian of the year, mom of the year.

2. gas prices are so high, people go to work to afford to buy gas to go to work.

3. Iran is building nukes to erradicate Israel and spark WW3.

4. Britney Spears' former backup dancer comes out of a divorce looking normal and wins custody of her kids while she pays him tens of thousands per month to support his lifestyle.

5. it's now fashionable for celebs to go to third world countries and adopt kids from impoverished nations and tote them around like an accessory.

6. a group of teen girls (whose hotness has yet to be determined) all agree to get pregnant to "improve their status in society".

gentlemen, it's the end of the world as we know it.


and i feel fine.

[MrBug708]

I think it would have been better if the father was all the same guy

[JediKooter]

They all should have to sign an agreement that since they wanted to get pregnant, that they waive any rights for the rest of their lives to any public assistance Federal and State.

[Noop]

Their parents should be jailed.

[gkb]

Speaking of sex ed, our gym teacher Mr. Gray (former army guy), was our instructor. He would hand out index cards for us to write anonymous questions on. This was a bad idea. Someone wrote, "What's a clitoris?" and when he read it, we all snickered like high school students do. He turned red, got mad, and punched a hole in the desk...breaking several bones in his hand. I never did learn what a clitoris was...my wife is sad.

Maybe this should have gone into the TMI thread.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by gkb

Speaking of sex ed, our gym teacher Mr. Gray (former army guy), was our instructor. He would hand out index cards for us to write anonymous questions on. This was a bad idea. Someone wrote, "What's a clitoris?" and when he read it, we all snickered like high school students do. He turned red, got mad, and punched a hole in the desk...breaking several bones in his hand. I never did learn what a clitoris was...my wife is sad.

Maybe this should have gone into the TMI thread.

We had a similar thing at my school. I don't think it's a bad idea, just the gym teacher did a horrible job handling the question.

[cuervo72]

We did that in elementary school, and I asked something along the lines of "if a man gets his penis blown off, how does he pee?" I pretty much knew how babies were made at that point, but THIS I did not know (my dad I think had recently mentioned someone he knew who had this happen in Vietnam). I believe my question was the only one not answered.

[MikeVic]

I think we also had index cards to write down what we liked most about the opposite sex. That was odd.

[TwinCitiesFan]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Something like this would never have happened at a school like Bayside or West Beverly.

Instead they would have all gotten implants at the same time.

[astrosfan64]

These girls should be encouraged to get an abortion, or at least have that presented to them as an option. If their parents had any sense they would encourage it also.

Sigh....

[Dr. Sak]

In before the lock...

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by astrosfan64

These girls should be encouraged to get an abortion, or at least have that presented to them as an option. If their parents had any sense they would encourage it also.

Sigh....

And this thread is done....

[astrosfan64]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

And this thread is done....

Why?

I don't get it.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by bsak16

In before the lock...

[astrosfan64]

Ok, I see the chance to have a discussion on this topic is zero. So, I'll move on. Carry on making fun of the prego teen girls, whose kids we have to pay for over the next 18+ years.

Yeah thats funny, carry on.

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

At the time, it probably seemed like a good idea to have Tom Brady visit your high school.

FTW!

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I think it would have been better if the father was all the same guy

And thus was born an army of little bounty hunters.

[Pumpy Tudors]

One of the following things is not true:

1. I have black hair.
2. I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
3. I used to work for a coal mining company.
4. I'm married.
5. I read a discussion on an Internet message board about abortion, and it didn't go down in flames.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

And thus was born an army of little bounty hunters.

saddle up tex

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Give them status?!?!

The teens who got pregnant in my high school were totally ostracised and their status was shit.

But that's a big reason behind the rise of teen pregnancy. While it was the same when and where I was brought up, it's increasingly not true, particularly in hard-hit socioeconomic areas. When the likelihood of productive, employed adulthoods gets lower and lower, people find their 'status' and their fulfillment through other means.

Also note they did this as a group, probably to prevent that fear of being ostracized. Yeah, these girls made a bunch of really stupid decisions, but not being their parents we should probably wonder about what sort of community they're growing up in that this would seem an appealing path to them.