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Pregnancy-Pact City to Vote on Contraception Pact

LibertySugar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:17 -0700

The school board in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the city of pregnancy-pact fame, is set to vote on a plan to distribute contraceptives to students. If passed, the schools and the students could enter a secret-contraception pact without parents knowing - in other words the schools would distribute condoms and such to students without parental consent.

Despite well-publicized rumors that 17 high school girls in the city decided to have children and raise them together, the mayor favors distributing contraceptives only with parental consent.

Most of you think that states should not require a teen to notify her parents before she obtains an abortion. Well, what about preventing pregnancy altogether - should public high schools distribute contraceptives without parents knowing?

Front Page: Pregnancy Pact Investigated, Israel Shows Iran Attack, 22,000 Protest in Thailand

CitizenSugar — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:00:04 -0700

Pregnancy Pact Investigated: Officials in Massachusetts are investigating why 17 teenage girls from the same high school have become pregnant, a number four times higher than the year before. Reports claim the girls, all under the age of 16, entered into a pact to have their babies together. No comment has been forthcoming from the girls or their families. Officials are investigating the ages of the fathers, as some are believed to be in their twenties - facing the possibility of being charged with having sex with minors. Birth rates for girls aged 15 to 17 rose by 3 percent in 2006, the first increase in the rate since 1991.

Israel Shows Iran Attack: Israel has performed what appears to be a rehearsal for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. More than 100 Israeli fighter jets conducted manuvers over the Mediterranean and Greece this month. Though Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, Israel sees Iran's development of the technology a threatening problem. The UN has demanded that Iran stop the enrichment of uranium, and approved a third round of sanctions against Iran over the issue in March 2008. A Pentagon official says of Israel's show of force, "they wanted us to know, they wanted the Europeans to know, and they wanted the Iranians to know."
22,000 Protest in Thailand: Several thousand protesters broke through a tight police seal around Thailand's seat of government today, planning to occupy the compound until the prime minister resigns. The protesters claim that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government is just a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. Though he's facing criminal charges for corruption, Thaksin remains a powerful figure in Thailand. Despite the huge protest, there were no immediate plans to declare a state of national emergency or martial law. Police estimated that about 22,000 people were present for the protest.

Mayor Said There's No Evidence of Pregnancy Pact

LilSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Seventeen swelling bellies aside, the Mayor of Gloucester, Carolyn Kirk, said that there is no evidence of a pact between the pregnant students of Gloucester High School as reported by Time. And, believes that the spike in pregnancies, which is more than four times the normal number, is similar to what's happening in other cities. Despite her claim, an Associated Press report said that some students and residents aren't buying into that belief. It said:

Gloucester resident Annette Dion, a 45-year-old private music teacher, said school and city officials should have done more to find out whether the girls truly made a pact to become pregnant. She said denying such a pact existed is "pretty naive."

Do you believe there was a pregnancy pact?

Teens Make a Pregnancy Pact

LilSugar — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:00:20 -0700

Seventeen students at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts are pregnant and it appears that many made the decision to have babies based on a pact. No doubt, the girls aged 16 and under, many of who took their confirming pregnancy tests at the school nurse's office, are sure to get a lesson in life. Time reported that the expectant young women plan to raise their babies together.

Do You Talk to Your Kids About Teenage Pregnancy?

LilSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:00:23 -0700

Audiences fell in love with Juno, pact or no pact, the girls of Gloucester High School made national headlines and Jamie Lynn Spears left her Nickelodeon stage to set up a nursery - it's been a big year for teenage pregnancy. And, perhaps the finale of it all is the recent announcement that Bristol Palin is expecting. Did you, or would you, use any of these instances to initiate a conversation with your kids about sex or teenage pregnancy?Source and Source

The Baby Borrowers: Interview with Natalie

LilSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Would you let a teen borrow your baby to teach them a lesson in life? We talked to one mom who did. Natalie, a 31-year-old mother of four, offered up her youngest child, 6-month-old, Etta to be cared for by teenage couple, Sean (18) and Kelsey (18) on last night's episode of the The Baby Borrowers.

NBC's new show takes five young couples and thrusts them into the real world by giving them a house to live in, followed by babies, tots, school aged children, preteens, teens, pets and elderly people as charges. The series couldn't be more timely with magazine covers dedicated to Jamie Lynn Spears's transition from Nickelodeon star to new mama. And, it's the glamorization of teen pregnancy that is why Natalie, who had her first son at the tender age of 17, decided to volunteer (no one on the show was paid) her offspring. With a professional nanny following the couple, and the ability to watch them on monitors and intervene at any time, the mother helped Kelsey experience the realities - the sleepless nights and frustration - of motherhood.

Did you have any apprehension about handing your baby over to teenagers? Not really - I thought it was important to do the show and everything was in place as far as safety measures. So I wasn't in fear at all as far as their (Natalie's son, Benjamin appears in the second episode) physical well being and I think that I was on hand to ensure emotional well being for them. I went over and interjected at one point.

What was the breaking point that made you decide to interfere? Well, Sean got frustrated and then he cursed, and said, "Put it in the other room it's just gonna cry anyway". The fact that he cursed and was referring to my daughter as "it" was my last straw.

To hear about Natalie's own experience as a teen mom and how she believes teenage pregnancy is portrayed in the media, read more.

Did you relate to Sean and Kelsey's emotions and frustration as you were their age when you became a mother? Yes, I did and I told them it's perfectly acceptable to get frustrated and go in the other room and scream into a pillow or cry in the shower, but it's not acceptable to curse at or while referring to your child. And, at the age Etta was at - you're there to handle their needs because they can't do it for themselves and they just couldn't act that way.

How did you feel about the overall experience - would you do it again? I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

In light of the Time magazine piece about the pregnancy pact at Gloucester High School, do you think this show might change the teen's view of pregnancy?. I truly wish that this was incorporated in all of the schools. There's usually a focus on abstinence or sex education, but not so much the realities. More than just telling kids they could get a sexually transmitted disease, they should know that every single time they choose to have sex, condom or no condom, they still need to be prepared to have a baby as a result. If it's a decision that they are OK with and prepared for, then go ahead and do whatever you are going to do. I was one of those girls just like the girls that you are hearing about now. I got pregnant on purpose because I thought I knew it all and I wanted my parents to know that I could do it myself and I could be a good mother.

What do you think about the way the media portrays teen pregnancy? It's really wrong. Everything has a happy ending. You'll have the baby and you'll move on and that's just not the reality if you're not from a prominent family. There's not always a mother to help or people to hand the baby off to.

Does your story have a happy ending? Absolutely, my story has a happy ending in general and that my kids are all healthy. But I have a 13-year-old son who chooses not to live with me, but to live with his father and this is not one of those court cases where my son was awarded to someone else. He asked about two years ago to go live with his dad because I grew up with him instead of already knowing who I was as a person before I started mothering him. I got frustrated and when there were things that went wrong, I blamed it on him. It's hard because I was a mother doesn't mean that I was a good mother or that I was equipped to take care of him.

So did you do this, in part, to prevent that from happening to other teens? It's good for teens who might be going down that path, but it's also good for their kids that are a product of these relationships because no one is out there advocating for them and they just happen to be born in these circumstances. My kids certainly didn't ask for it and I've put some emotional scars on them and I am deeply sorry for that, but I hope that at least I can help others from making the same mistake.

“The Baby Borrowers” is moving to 9 p.m. ET on Wednesdays beginning July 2 with repeats of the prior week's episode airing before the originals at 8 p.m. ET. Check back soon for our interview with Kelsey.

Birth Control in Schools: Kid Friendly or Are You Kidding?

LilSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:00:44 -0700

Whether there was a pregnancy pact at Glouchester High or not, the Massachusetts school made headlines and as a result contraceptives will be distributed there and at other district high schools with parental consent. What's your opinion?