TEENIES PART III (and last, I hope!)

The “expert” analyses of why at least 17 teenies at Gloucester (MA) High got themselves with child begin: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25279403/?GT1=43001

Obviously, they didn’t execute the project alone–one enlisted the assistance of a 24 year old homeless guy–but apparently it was of their own volition and speculation as to their reasons for effectively ending their childhood are pretty irrelevant. The school was certainly an enabler, a willing facilitator, by assuring them in advance that they could have their little cherubs taken care of via an onsite daycare program. What’s debatable is not teen hormones or the reasons for their pact. It’s really the question of how our society has devolved into one that winks at teen promiscuity. (Living in the belly of the liberal beast, aka Massachusetts, the state that keeps electing Teddy Kennedy and Barney Frank and which can't bring itself to pass a Jessica's Law to protect kids, can't be very conducive to rational behavior, either.)

The good news is that the girls at least haven't aborted the innocent products of their foolishness.

I always told my daughter that if she had a baby outside of marriage I would not help her with it and I told my sons that if they got a girl pregnant I would not help them. I really WOULD have, but they believed me. I told them they would be considered adults and they would be on their own. They are all grown now and none of them has children yet. These girls must have thought that their parents would help them with an expected baby. If I had gotten pg on purpose as a teenager my parents would have beaten the life out of me. My 81 year old mother would come down here and beat me now, if I had gotten PG at age 14, she would still come beat me daily. LOL And I would deserve it.

What went wrong? What would drive teen girls to make a pact to get pregnant? Who's to blame?

Some say that the immaturity of these girls underscores their inability to decide what's right for their bodies. Others say Hollywood, Jamie Lynn Spears, and the glamorization of sex are at fault.

But is it possible that Gloucester High School's policy of denying students access to contraception played a role?

The truth is that nobody knows the answers and rushing to any judgment is premature at best.

But here's what we do know: The abstinence-only policy pushed so hard by the Bush administration and the right-wing for years doesn't work.

In 2006, the teen pregnancy rate increased by 3 percent, after steadily declining for the previous 14 years. This increase directly correlates with the increase in abstinence-only education. The teen pregnancy rate had started its decline in the early nineties, and during this time period, an increase in condom use was also reported.

But since George W. Bush took office and revamped funding for abstinence-only education, the decline has slowed and recently reversed.

A growing number of state leaders have seen the light. A federal tally shows that participation in the Bush abstinence only program is down 40 percent over two years, with 28 states still in. Arizona and Iowa have announced their intention to forgo their share of the federal grant.

For the sake of our kids, it's time for more state leaders to take off their ideological blinders. If abstinence-only education doesn't help prevent teen pregnancies, shouldn't we try programs that do? It's time to move in a new direction.

It's time to call on the states to listen to the facts, and reject abstinence-only funding. The states should do what's best for America's youth.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.