JulieLynn
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Reged: 06/03/05
Posts: 1211
Loc: KY gal in Indiana
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Teens' Pregnancy Pact Shocks Town
CBS News
(June 19)
It's news that has people talking in the sleepy fishing village of Gloucester, Massachusetts, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller.
"I think it's awful," one woman says. "They're kids having kids."
Seventeen girls at Gloucester High School not only got pregnant, but according to some, it was no accident.
"Pregnancy was the desired outcome," school superintendent Christopher Farmer says.
"So they did it on purpose?" Miller asks.
"That's what it sounds like, yes," Farmer says.
School officials discovered the pregnancy pact after some girls seemed disappointed that their pregnancy tests from the school nurse came back negative.
"They will have a baby as part of their life to give them status," Farmer says. "motherhood gives them status."
Status in Gloucester is hard to come by. The once thriving fishing community has seen jobs drift overseas. Economic depression has left many teens trying to fill the void.
"It sort of gives you the impression of being an adult, an independent. It may give you an opportunity for unconditional love and attention from the baby and also that you give to the baby," Dr. Elisabeth Guthrie, a pediatric psychiatrist, says.
According to the superintendent, all the girls were 16 or younger. Most of the fathers weren't in high school and at least one of them was a 24-year-old man.
Amanda Ireland, mother of 3-year-old Haley, just graduated from Gloucester High. She says she's tried to warn her peers about the tough road ahead.
"Don't, don't try to get pregnant," she says. "People say, 'I know what it's like because I have siblings.' But you really don't. No one knows until they actually go through it. And it's a lot of work."
School officials have their work cut for them. They are now considering a plan to provide birth control services in the high school next fall.
Their biggest challenge is how to change the mindset in some of the girls who come here.
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Have a great day!!
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matart1
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Reged: 09/01/05
Posts: 2798
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what a bunch of stupid, stupid immature little girls...
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Life is a long lesson in humility.
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Misslisa1017
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 2056
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They just have no clue, it's so sad. This is like when my son and his ex got pregnant on purpose. They weren't thinking at all. They just plunged foward into the decision, and then when my son didn't get a job immediatly at he bidding she left him and moved on to another man and replaced him as a father figure. :::::::::sigh::::::::::
At least now they are working out the parenting roles. But why? What are these kids thinking? I know I went wrong somewhere. I know I'm going to do a lot more talking with my 11 yr old.
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asurvivor
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Reged: 06/14/05
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Doesn't surprise me at all to read this!!!!! I remember watching a talk show like 15 year ago and girls were saying then they wanted babies so they would have someone to LOVE! And someone TO LOVE THEM BACK.
This is exactly whats wrong with this world. children having children without realizing the full impact and RESPONSIBILITY of raising a child. These kids get stuck with parents who are immature, uneducated, and unmotivated. With that you get children being raised without WISDOM, COMMON SENSE, and good strong family BELIEFS. Let alone parents who work in lieu of WELFARE!
I think it sick the way people have kids these days! Adults and children ALIKE. No one has a purpose for having kids they do just because they can. They have no vision of what they want for their children bc they never had a vision for themselves so the quality of children being raised IS IN THE TOILET.
I can bit ch about this for hours but it won't stop children from having children so I'll end it now!
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Sherron
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Reged: 11/25/06
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"No one has a purpose for having kids they do just because they can. "
Well, that IS drastically different than the times when girls had kids at the same age so they could be utilized as farm help... that wasn't all that long ago... we tend to forget that waiting to have children, even until your 20's, is a fairly recent trend... one that I happen to agree with, but it's not like it's never been done that way before...
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JRS
old hand
Reged: 06/25/07
Posts: 827
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While I take note of your (obvious) passion on the subject and I don't disagree with you - I take some exception to the generalization.
I was a teen mom ('child having a child')- not ALL teen parents are as you describe. I have exceptional children and I am a decent parent I feel. I won't say I never made a mistake or wrong/irresponsible choice - but most everyone that meets my kids are very impressed by them so I couldn't have done all that poorly with them.
Oh and I have NEVER been on welfare
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Sherron
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"I won't say I never made a mistake or wrong/irresponsible choice "
The majority of us HAVE made this mistake (teen $ex)... only the minority has had to pay the price in full (teen pregnancy)... if you've had $ex as a teen, you really have no right to be judgmental about teen parents...that's all THEY did as well...maybe some weren't smart about, maybe they were, but since no bc method is 100%, it doesn't matter... anyone having $ex is taking the chance of pregnancy...
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Miranda
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Loc: North of Mexico
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No Sherron these girls we out to intentionally get prego-it was no accident.
Some teens have sex and use protection. Some teens intentionally go out to get prego for whatever reason. Not the same kettle of fish.
And as adults, yes we can judge them for their inability to make rational decisions. Now the taxpayers get to foot the bill for them and their kids for years to come.
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13.1...because I am only half crazy!
Edited by Miranda (06/20/08 11:39 AM)
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Sherron
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"And as adults, yes we can judge them for their inability to make rational decisions"
And you're right, teens are KNOWN for their stereotypical inability to make rational decisions. Some kids decide to drag race down main at 3am, others get wasted, these girls chose to try to get preggers... ALL TEENS MAKE POOR CHOICES on some level or another; some are unfortunate enough to make poor choices with a "biggie"; and some of those are unfortunate enough to have to suffer the full consequences of these poor choices...
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Relayer
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Reged: 03/13/07
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Loc: Moorglade Mover
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Where are these girls parents? What a bunch of idiots.
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GO CUBBIES!!!!
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Spring
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Reged: 06/02/04
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"Where are these girls parents? What a bunch of idiots."
Relayer, are you aware that teens have sex even at school these days?
I don't disagree that in some cases, the parents may just be neglectful...but that is not always the case.
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Never consider the possibility of failure; as long as you persist, you will be successful.
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preemiemom
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How big is Gloucester? I don't think it's that big. This would seem to represent a fairly good percentage of their senior year female population? I'd have to go find stats.
But if the movie depiction of Gloucester is even remotely on base (Gloucester is the town the Andrea Gail ported in.. the movie The Perfect Storm), you're talking a VERY small town, very few other prospects other than fishing, predominantly lower income, poorly educated etc etc.
These girls are probably repeating their own family cycles or cycles they've seen around them. Sad.. but fact of life probably.
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BeckaLeigh
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Reged: 06/08/05
Posts: 6875
Loc: Texas
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I fully agree with JRS. I was a "teen mom" and although I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, I've done a pretty good job raising my kids, along with others' kids. I have had state aid, when my oldest DD had her surgery. But, there was no way I could come up with the $90K they asked me to.
:(
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I tried being normal once. Worst five minutes of my life.
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PrincessJ
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Loc: 39.10 degrees North 94.58 degr...
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[quote]Where are these girls parents? What a bunch of idiots. [/quote]
When I got preganat at 18 and told my mother, her response was, "Why did you do it? Was it because we didn't buy you everything you kids wanted? Was it because we didn't have air conditioning?"
Uh, noooo....it was because I was horny, Mom.
You can't really BLAMe the parents. Kids are curious. They will experiment. It only takes one time...
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I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it.
--Jack Handey
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Sherron
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"Was it because we didn't have air conditioning?"
Okay, not trying to laugh at a rather somber moment in your life...but AIR CONDITIONING?? "Yes, mom, I got preggers because we didn't have AIR CONDITIONING." May be I am deranged, but I find this funny...
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DeeCan
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Reged: 04/05/08
Posts: 1266
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I was a teen mother so I don't judge this girls (of course, I didn't plan to get pregnant, but that's neither here nor there). But do they not realize they have pretty much signed, sealed and delivered their fate of staying in that same small town, living in poverty, etc.? Although anyone can rise above that, it makes it much more difficult when you've got a baby in tow and barely able to legally drive.
And what's sad, is they say they say that they are having these babies to have someone to love and to love them back. Well, my "baby" I had as a teen is now 16, and I can assure you there are some days he thinks he doesn't love me at all; and, to be perfectly honest, on those same days I have to question myself if I love him enough to keep from pinching his head off and tossing him back to where he came from. lol
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Don't drink and park, accidents cause people.
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MaritimeGuy
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Reged: 04/15/08
Posts: 532
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I worked with a woman who grew up in a small town where there was a lot of poverity. She told me a lot of girls she knew growing up would get pregnant so they would qualify for welfare and could move out on their own. Otherwise they had to wait until they were 18 to qualify. They would then have more kids to increase the amount of welfare they received.
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