All my life I have been told that teen pregnancy is a difficult situation. That teenagers shouldn't get pregnant. Cause your life pretty much slows down to a near halt.
I understand that there are people who have made that difficult decision and have flourished, and God bless them. I have no doubt that the Palin family with their resources and connection will assist the young couple in starting their life together with their child. But not all teenagers parents are running for Vice president of the United States. And that's the problem.
I am the parent of a beautiful 13yo. She's a great kid with good head on her shoulders. She's knows the world. See my family we live in the reality based community.
Over the last year my family along with millions others have been subject to two high profile individuals literally brag that about being pregnant teens.
Last year it was Brittany Spears sister Jamie Lynn bragging about being 16 and pregnant. Now we have Palin family boasting about their beautiful daughter being pregnant.
And both times the Christian Right was singing the praises of these teen moms.
The typical teen mom doesn't have a hit TV show on Nick and the typical teen mom is not the daughter of the Gov of Alaska.
The typical teen mom is looking at a life filled with hardship and ache.
The typical teen mom is not going to get a standing ovation when her mother mentions her at her speech during the RNC.
This is a serious issue. I commend the young couple in their choice of keeping the child. But that's not the point. The point is we have a 17 year (may have been as young as 16 don't know her birthday) having unprotected sex, NOT using birth control and getting pregnant.
This is a 17 yo who decided or was not taught by her parents to practice safe sex nor use birth control. Yet she is being praised by the party that preaches family values and morality that this is a good thing that she is keeping the child. Totally ignoring the fact we have a 17 year old unmarried girl who shouldn't have been PREGNANT in the first place.
Is this the message we want to send our teenage children? That's its ok to get pregnant? That the world will love and take care of you??? Or should the message be lets teach our children to practice abstinence but if your going to engage sex then use birth control. Use a condom. That's the message we should all strive to tell our children.
The world is better when we LIMIT the amount of teen pregnancies. When we prevent them from getting pregnant so they don't ever have to choose between trauma of an abortion or the difficulties of being a teen parent.
But the party of anti-choice doesn't want to hear it. They preach abstinence only. They fight sex education in schools. Now they sing the praises of an unmarried 17 yo.
This is the message they send to our children.