I'm getting a little tired of this topic on here. Yes, Bristol Palin is saying silly things that are probably heavily influenced by her family. And yes, we all think that abstinence-only education is dumb. And by "we all", I mean probably 90% of the commenters here.

hindsight is 20/20. im sure bristol wasn't thinking of getting knocked up in the throws of passion. people are going to do what they want... so why not at least *try* to educate them about the stuff that can happen. not just getting pregnant, but stds/hiv.

i'm pretty sure we all knew in highschool that a baby could happen when you had unprotected sex

just cuz this random girl from alaska has her baby on the cover of people isn't the EUREKA moment i need to think "hey, maybe i should abstain!"

since this baby fact is actually common knowledge to everyone but bristol palin, apparantly, then i think that smart girls choose the pill and/or other methods of contraception! and i think they should continue to do so!

i have to say, not one girl i went to highschool with ever got pregnant and i can literally think of only one example of someone who got pregnant at my brother's highschool during his years, and none during my sisters years...and none at my friends' highschools in other surrounding cities

this whole teenage baby thing is a trend and SMART people have been protecting themselves for years. she's dumb to think that her situation is the lightbulb going on that sex can equal babies. you're not that special honey.

Completely unrealistic and annoying that people would care to pay attention to what she says.

We all know a baby CAN happen, but teenagers are very naive. They don't realize that things like that can actually happen to them. They understand a baby comes from sex, but don't actually actively think that a baby can happen to them. Just like everyone knows drinking and driving kills,they show videos, newspaper articles, statistic to teenagers and yet more kids get killed in alcohol related car accidents than anything. They know the consequences, but there is still the element of being invincible. Knowing the consequences do not stop teenagers who are more interested in impressing people and being idiots than anything else.

So, yes, I agree with her in a way. I think the people who are against birth control (some girls and their parents) and still have sex -- if those girls really knew what having a baby was like, and they could not do the BC thing, I think it would stop. I also think that educating girls on what it's like to have a baby is better than just saying "use birth control" -- it might help with being serious about the birth control, using back-up methods the first week after taking the pill and when on the placebo pills (and possibly the whole cycle). Teenagers do need to be educated on the reality. What they usually see is a cute baby that can sometimes wake them up in the middle of the night. They don't stop and think about getting a struggling toddler into a car seat, or colic babies. They don't think about the doctors appointments, the money (many many thousands of dollars), they don't think about leaking diapers in the car, etc. They can see babies cry, babies sh*t, I have to clean diapers -- but they do not see beyond that. Some teenagers might...but the girls who WANT to be teen mothers (and I have personally met some, not friends of mine, thank god) just don't get it. I knew a girl who wanted to be a teen mom so badly, she had one at 17, and as soon as the high wore off ( a few months) she said that she regretted it so badly and didn't know what she was thinking.

So, lets's educate girls about the expense and hassle of a baby...give them a real taste of it. And remind them, if you don't want to be plummeted to the 7th level of hell...don't have sex, or use birth control every time.

she sounds so stupid, doesn't she? a lot of girls imagine that, some have baby brothers or sisters screaming at nights themselves. girls just forget there's this think called birth control or in the end - the morning after pill.

DID SHE THINK OF THAT BEFORE SHE HAD SEX???

[Oh that was kind of a low blow...my bad]

The consequences of sex are pretty well known, so I don't think that's the issue. What's stuck with me is how it was presented. I think everyone should be required to watch and analyze "The Miracle of Life" in high school. I had to watch it 5 times in various contexts. And trust ME - NOBODY wants to have a baby after you see and listen a woman give birth with NO anesthesia. The screams are the scariest thing. And they're easier to remember!

I also like to point out her happy, contented cover cuddling her child. How is that pictorial of the consequence of sex going to deter people from having it?

" If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex"

then how does she explain the many teenagers who have two or 3 kids before they finish high school, they obviously know the consequences of sex, yet they continue to have sex and pop out more kids.

Dm8bri, I totallt agree! "Hey, I had a baby and life is great, I still graduate highschool, still will probably go on to college and look how cute he is!"

Baby Borrowers turned me right off babies.

Poor girl hasn't heard about birth control or protected sex. There IS a way to have sex responsibly. She could have benefited from sex education.

My husband and I have been together for over 10 years. We have a healthy sex life. Also, we decided not to have children. Bristol should trust me -- there is way to have sex without unwanted pregnancy. I've never had a surprise pregnancy, and I was far from abstinent.

As for the cover -- she is in a precarious position. She loves her baby. Just because she is saying she would have wanted to wait and that girls should be more careful (or not have sex, in her case) does not mean she cannot love the kid. Plus, imagine all the bad publicity if there was a photo of her on a cover that looked like she hated him!

I love how she says girls would never have sex. She basically just reiterated the gender biases that still exist in society, obviously the man doesn't have to take responsibility. What a load.

Do adult actions and you pay adult consequences. She's naive to think otherwise and should have found a form of birth control. She had younger siblings in the home so she had some clue of what raising kids does involve. Promoting abstinence while holding a child isn't a good approach to be taken seriously.

Oh Bristol... how naive you are. Because if that was the case then YOU would not have had sex.

People drive cars, smoke, and eat red meat everyday with the well noted possible consequences of accidents, cancer, and heart attacks. Why; because we ALL think it will never happen to us. Imagining consequences doesn't work for everyone. That is why we teach preventive actions for everyone else.

Ugh. Just ugh. Everything has come out of her mouth lately has been made mildly ridiculous by her actual situation.

Golwingmoon I agree with you.

I'm tired of Bristol Palin. when her kid gets some Alaskan teenager pregnant at 16/17, then we can talk about this again in 17 years.

*Yawn* Whatever. Some people will never learn until they make a mistake. I really wish they'd talk more about protecting yourself. Kids are having sex younger and younger.. and telling them not to do it just makes it that much more interesting... ugh.

TEENAGERS HAVE HORMONES!?
SEX EQUALS BABIES!?

WHAT!?
This should have been taught in high school. I thought all teenagers were celibate and that sex resulted in lollypops.

Do as I say...

"If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex."
I've known the consequences of sex since about 12, started having it at 16. I'm now 25, love sex (and am happily married) and have no kids. IT IS POSSIBLE.

She just needs to focus on being a good mother now and cut her losses before no one has any respect for her. Oh wait...

this girl has no idea what the hell she is talking about!! she's stupid!! i will be glad when she goes away.

Oy-yo, another post regarding Bristol Palin (if her mom ain't Sarah Palin, she won't even be on a cover anywhere, mind you).

Well..it's right though..abstinence = no sex = no baby.

Then again, I still want to have sex (hey, I love sex!) so tsk, I'd stay with my birth control.

Tres, are you being paid by the Palin people to post about Bristol? Seriously, no one cares anymore.

She is being ridiculous. Teens should be educated on pregnancy and STD prevention. Just because you take BC does not mean you are not going to get a STD, which can be just as devastating to long term life plans (i.e. lead to infertility). I know lots of girls/women who date men and are having unprotected sex within 2 weeks, no std checks. While in medical school I met a 16yo with herpes and many teen moms. I grew up Catholic and am saving myelf for marriage, BUT still would never condone ignorance/abstinence only. That's what makes this country great, we have choices to live as we choose and no-one should dictate that our children/teens should receive only one part of a very complicated issue. RIDICULOUS and DANGEROUS. Ok sorry for the rant

This girl is so ignorant, it's not even funny. I mean, damn it! It's called birth control and their are many options. Stop the madness!!!!!!!!

"Girls need to imagine and picture their life with a screaming newborn baby and then think before they have sex . . . If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex. Trust me. Nobody."

Bristol use your own advice. You have a 7 year-old sister and a 1 year-old brother with down syndrome in the house. You knew exactly what it was like to have a screaming baby in the house. You know unprotected sex = baby and you did it anyway. Now you want to whine about not being in her graduation slide show and siting on the sideline while your family plays Eskimo bingo. Oh boo freakin' hoo. There is way to many forms of birth control and its not like your poor and can't afford bc, a diaphragm, condoms, spermicides, mourning after, etc. I don't want to hear about you complain about your "isolated" life while simultaneously gallivanting around America contradicting yourself in interviews because 90% of teen moms don't get to live a luxurious lifestyle as you. So sorry Bristol I don't trust you. Why? Because thousands of women have sex and manage not to get pregnant (me included).

I agree with dm8bri. There she is on the cover, all pretty in the red grad gown with a happy little baby...

that baby is darling but i think what she is saying is that her life is much more difficult than it could have been if she had JUST waited. she missed out on all the high school fun and lets face it, most parents don't want their son dating a teen mom. there is lots of time for cute babies and being a mom. she's going to miss out.

i'm kind of surprised her mom isn't just saying "go off to college and i will raise your baby with my youngest.". god i hope my girls don't fall into the teen mom group

that baby is darling but i think what she is saying is that her life is much more difficult than it could have been if she had JUST waited.

But I still don't get it. She says she should wait until what like 25 to have sex. I'm still not hearing any talk of protection. Ya she would have been older and maybe have a decent job but 25 is still a little young for babies (if your not trying for one). I just don't like that she refuses to talk about birth control at all.

i'm kind of surprised her mom isn't just saying "go off to college and i will raise your baby with my youngest."

I think this is Sarah Palin's way to show that her daughter made an irresponsible decision and she has to deal with it. Not mommy, not daddy, and not the grandparents. And this way they can show teens how hard it is and maybe it will make girls not want to have sex. It's Bristol's responsibility. Which is true but I think a 4 year degree is important in this world and I think Bristol has an opportunity to do that but maybe feels like she can't do that. My mother's friend's daughter came home from school pregnant and the woman had the child but the mother sent the daughter back up to school and she had to get friends and other adults to help babysit. It was tough but she pulled through it. Everybody can't do that but I think Bristol can since money isn't a very large issue.

But contraception was sent by the devil to make us all promiscuous!!

i thought about the "consequences". so i invested in condoms and birth control pills.... i'm 21 and i started having sex when i was 16.

i have no babies.
i have no STD's.
and i have no regrets...

so she's wrong.

Bristol is sexting right now

"Bristol is sexting right now"

Well at least it can't get you pregnant. Maybe we should start encouraging teens to do more sexting.

Please, for the love of GOD, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE teach girls AND boys to use a freaking condom or the pill! I'm fifteen. I'm a high school freshman. Last year (EIGHTH GRADE), two girls dropped out because they were pregnant. One of them came back this year and is due again in August. This year ALONE I have seen six pregnant girls- black, white and asian. It can happen to anyone. I absolutely agree with Chrstne- Teenagers think they are invincible. Being a teenager, I can say that I don't look when I cross the street or check my mirrors when I'm driving if I don't actively think about it. We don't have our own safety in mind because quite honestly we think we are safe no matter what we do. The kinds of girls who will look at Bristol Palin and take her words to heart aren't having sex anyway. The kinds of girls who look at Bristol Palin and see the cover but not the words are the kinds who need to have the idea of SAFE sex pounded into their heads until they see wheels of BC and condom wrappers every time they close their eyes.

Very nice TwistandShout!

> I love how she says [i]girls[/i] would never have sex. She basically just reiterated the gender biases that still exist in society, obviously the man doesn't have to take responsibility. What a load.

You should have realised earlier, shouldn't you, Bristol?
I'm sixteen and I understand that accidents happen. But accidents are only accidents if you protect yourself and they happen anyway. There are 72-hour-after pills for those accidents. But if you don't protect yourself... that's not accidental, IT'S STUPIDITY.

They should make an ad geared toward the boys. Yes you know, the real problem here? Take out an ad showing the Wisconsin state law that his parents will be responsible for paying for his newborn baby. Coming soon to a state near you. Maybe then my mother should be hired as a top advisor. She used to talk about being stuck in the small town I lived in forever if I got pregnant. Settling in with a local idiot that gains fifty pounds and looses his hair. In a small three/two with kids hanging on my legs when someone knocks at my screen door. I kept picturing some God awful wedding at the local country club and having my life leap before my eyes near the mall with hair curlers and above ground swimming pools and campers in the driveway. Not a single trip to Europe while he goes hunting with his buddies. There's nothing like a threat like that to keep your legs closed.