one of the women in this picture is pregnant? Can you guess which one?

[Fau Teixeira]

Lets also get real here. 

Mom is a pro-life governor.  Who two years ago said she would oppose her own daughter having an abortion even in the case of rape.  Alaska like most states require parental notification to get an abortion if you are 17 or under.  

I really doubt, it was a case of "Bristol, we will offer our love and support no matter what you choose."  Followed by Bristol feeling choosing to keep the child because that is what her heart told her. 

She didn't have a choice.  I am not claiming Bristol would have had an abortion if she had a choice, but she didn't have a choice. 

i don't think she was forced to keep the kid .. you have a child and you indoctrinate your beliefs from an early age and i'm sure that her choice was to keep the baby .. not that it matters to me at all .. if she wants to chose to keep the kid .. more power to her ..

but whether or not her daughter is keeping the kid or not  isn't the focus of this whole episode from my standpoint...

how about instead of teaching your kid that abortion is a sin.. you teach her that getting knocked up at the age of 16 is worse .. what .. she can't keep it in her pants for a couple of years .. maybe until she finishes high school first

how's that abstinence only education working out for your daughter eh palin .. maybe if she had been taught how to properly use a condom she wouldn't have gotten knocked up

[Fau Teixeira]

and if anyone wants to extrapolate the political remifications of her daughter being pregnant .. i'll save you the trouble:

if you can't even sell your own daughter on your sex education policy how do you expect to sell that same line of crap to the rest of the country?

[CF DolFan]

That's as stupid as pointing to a kid who got pregnant and wasn't in an abstinence family and saying that teaching sex ed doesn't work.  Kids are freaking kids.  Most kids on both sides of the argument get through just fine without getting pregnant and or a sexual disease.  The truth is the number is continuing to climb as kids don't use protection.  I certainly know that I, as well as kids today, didn't actually stop because I didn't have a condom handy. I used some stupid method of pulling out or whatever other goofy method that would convince her she wouldn't get pregnant ... and then I prayed it didn't happen just like most people. (Talk about getting closer to God) 

Condoms are readily available to anyone who wants them. Handing out condoms guarantees nothing except that the person getting them will have it in the immediate future.  Who knows where that thing will be or even what condition it will be in in a week, a month, or a year when that person does decide to have sex? This doesn't count the multiple nights when one just won't do.

The bottom line is kids can be taught whatever by whoever but ultimately it is them making the decision.  That will never change. As a parent you hope they make the right choice but then you can't just abandon them when they don't.

[run_to_win]

how's that abstinence only education working out for your daughter eh palin .. maybe if she had been taught how to properly use a condom she wouldn't have gotten knocked up

Geez Fau, I've never seen you hostile before. 

Anyways, according to NPR yesterday there are fewer abortions on school-age mothers in districts that teach abstinence only than in districts that teach birth control.

[Fau Teixeira]

i'm not hostile .. i just don't like the hypocrisy .. you can't glorify palin because her daughter "chose" to keep the baby as if that somehow translates into her giving her daughter good family values .. while on the other hand just ignoring the fact that "good values" means she shouldn't be having getting pregnant in the first place

[Brian Fein]

i'm not hostile .. i just don't like the hypocrisy .. you can't glorify palin because her daughter "chose" to keep the baby as if that somehow translates into her giving her daughter good family values .. while on the other hand just ignoring the fact that "good values" means she shouldn't be having getting pregnant in the first place

WORD TO FAU.

[Dave Gray]

Anyways, according to NPR yesterday there are fewer abortions on school-age mothers in districts that teach abstinence only than in districts that teach birth control.

This sounds like correlation, not causality.

I would imagine that abstinence-only education is taught in more conservative areas where there is also a strong pro-life community.  Did the report have anything to do with the number of pregnancies?

Also, I'd imagine that the kinds of towns that teach abstinence only vs. sex-ed are different socioeconomic groups, and that's just a lot of variables for which to control.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

According to NPR yesterday there are fewer abortions on school-age mothers in districts that teach abstinence only than in districts that teach birth control.

That makes total sense, but totally irrelevant.

Better question is what is the rate of teenage pregnancy. 

Communities that teach abstinence only do so because they are in very conservative areas where that is what the majority of parent/school board etc demand it.  Those same very conservatives parents are likely to pressure  their daughters into keeping the child or putting it up for adoption, instead of an abortion.

BTW I think BC  should be taught but there should be a heavy emphasis on abstinence being the best method.  Much heavier than it is now. 

[Buddhagirl]

i'm not hostile .. i just don't like the hypocrisy .. you can't glorify palin because her daughter "chose" to keep the baby as if that somehow translates into her giving her daughter good family values .. while on the other hand just ignoring the fact that "good values" means she shouldn't be having getting pregnant in the first place

One of the problems that I have with this whole debacle is that if this was an inner city girl that had far fewer resources, no one would be applauding that she kept her baby. They'd be yelling that she should have kept her legs closed. When it's an upper middle class family with lots of resources they are applauded for keeping the baby and no one acts like it's a big deal that this girl is pregnant at 17.

CF, there are more ways to prevent pregnancy then condoms. They could've had her on something that she wouldn't even have to think about. IUD, the shot, Nuvaring. The list goes on.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

One of the problems that I have with this whole debacle is that if this was an inner city girl that had far fewer resources, no one would be applauding that she kept her baby. They'd be yelling that she should have kept her legs closed. When it's an upper middle class family with lots of resources they are applauded for keeping the baby and no one acts like it's a big deal that this girl is pregnant at 17.

CF, there are more ways to prevent pregnancy then condoms. They could've had her on something that she wouldn't even have to think about. IUD, the shot, Nuvaring. The list goes on.

I think the phrase the right would use is welfare mom. 

[run_to_win]

i'm not hostile .. i just don't like the hypocrisy .. you can't glorify palin because her daughter "chose" to keep the baby as if that somehow translates into her giving her daughter good family values .. while on the other hand just ignoring the fact that "good values" means she shouldn't be having getting pregnant in the first place

Fau, do your teenagers immediately learn and follow everything you try to teach them?   

The message I got from the NPR report was that "don't do it" is a stronger and more consistent message than, "well, if you're going to do it anyways".

People seem to be associating family values with conservative suburbs vs inner cities, etc.   I would think that it's a choice that a parent chooses and is unrelated to neighborhood, socio-economics, etc, etc.

[run_to_win]

I think the phrase the right would use is welfare mom.

And if there's no one else to provide for the mother and child in the conditions described, it's an accurate term.   

Seems like people are now implying that some people generally take care of their own family issues and others don't.

[Buddhagirl]

And if there's no one else to provide for the mother and child in the conditions described, it's an accurate term.   

Seems like people are now implying that some people generally take care of their own family issues and others don't.

No Run, what I'm implying is that the "right" is ok with teen pregnancy as long as the family is wealthy. If the family is not, then all hell breaks lose.

There is a SERIOUS double standard here.

And wouldn't everyone be involved be better off if all of the woman had abortion as an option?

[CF DolFan]

One of the problems that I have with this whole debacle is that if this was an inner city girl that had far fewer resources, no one would be applauding that she kept her baby. They'd be yelling that she should have kept her legs closed. When it's an upper middle class family with lots of resources they are applauded for keeping the baby and no one acts like it's a big deal that this girl is pregnant at 17.

CF, there are more ways to prevent pregnancy then condoms. They could've had her on something that she wouldn't even have to think about. IUD, the shot, Nuvaring. The list goes on.

Had she been that example we wouldn't have even heard of her. teen preganncies happen every day to people below the poverty level.   I've got several in my family and no one has said anything about them in the press.  The only reason anyone feels the need to defend this poor girl is because she is being attacked.  No one is going around saying hey check out this great young lady. She is a great moral example to look up to.  She is being defended only because she is being attacked.

As far as other ways of the birth control you mentioned I would have several reason for not doing that outside of my morals. You can't be serious are you?  If pregnancy is the only thing you are worried about then you certainly have your priorities confused and we are speaking from two complete ends of the spectrum.  In no way is pregnancy a death sentence and I would never condone a child having an IUD inserted let alone the others.  

[Buddhagirl]

Had she been that example we wouldn't have even heard of her. teen preganncies happen every day to people below the poverty level.   I've got several in my family and no one has said anything about them in the press.  The only reason anyone feels the need to defend this poor girl is because she is being attacked.  No one is going around saying hey check out this great young lady. She is a great moral example to look up to.  She is being defended only because she is being attacked.

As far as other ways of the birth control you mentioned I would have several reason for not doing that outside of my morals. You can't be serious are you?  If pregnancy is the only thing you are worried about then you certainly have your priorities confused and we are speaking from two complete ends of the spectrum.  In no way is pregnancy a death sentence and I would never condone a child having an IUD inserted let alone the others.  

Then we are indeed speaking from 2 different spectrums here. I do feel that TEEN pregnancy is a death sentence for most teens. Approximately 70 % of teen mothers do not even finish high school. If that's not a death sentence, I don't know what is. How are you supposed to properly support a child with less than a high school education? What does that teach that child? Nevermind that it creates a never ending loop of teen pregnancy.

I suppose you would rather sentence a girl to socio-economic hardship than put her on birth control? I don't get that.