Babies Having Babies
During my freshman year of high school, one of my classmates got pregnant. I wasn’t friends with her and I never saw her with a boyfriend, so I never knew who knocked her up. Even the other kids, who gossiped about her growing belly at lunch, didn’t have the details.
After watching her, along with all the Very Special Episodes of 90’s teen shows that featured pregnant girls, I spent the beginning of my time as a sexually active woman in stark terror I’d get pregnant. Despite taking precautions, I feared broken condoms or any other odd circumstance that would give me the same reputation as my classmate (as well as result in my mother ending my life).
Apparently, flannel shirts aren’t the only trend that’s fallen out of favor since my high school days. High school girls in Gloucester are actually trying to get pregnant.
The Globe reported on the increase of teen pregnancies at Gloucester high a few weeks ago, and quoted the school nurse as saying some of the girls were sad to find they weren’t with child.
Each time, Daly stood in her lab with her eyes closed, little white wand in hand waiting for the results to appear. When they were negative, she breathed a sigh of relief. When they were positive, she braced herself for the unpredictable emotional response that comes with telling a teenager she’s going to be a mother. Some girls broke down in tears. Others broke into smiles. One exclaimed, “Sweet!”
Did she forget to add the “. . .mother of God, what am I going to do with a baby?”
Today, Time magazine (via the Globe) reports that the girls had a pact to get pregnant, even using a 24-year-old hobo as a sperm donor.
Really.
If you’re like me, your first thought is what are these girls thinking? Both the Globe and Time cite the weakening fishing economy’s effect on Gloucester families. From the Time article:
[I]in recent years, [fishing] jobs have all but disappeared overseas, and with them much of the community’s wherewithal. “Families are broken,” says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. “Many of our young people are growing up directionless.”
Let me give you a direction, ladies—out.
Get out of Gloucester. You’re only 40 miles away from Boston, which has dozens of colleges for you to choose from. Every teenager feels unloved and that her family is horrible. But you listen to your Tori Amos CDs (or whatever angry girls like these days), suffer through four years of high school hell, and leave town to get an education so you aren’t limited to fishing jobs or child-rearing.
Now, if you need me, I’ll be checking to make sure my birth control hasn’t expired.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
It’s too bad there is what can only be called financial incentives to promote this sort of irresponsible behavior. Let’s face it. If there wasn’t an overly generous welfare system in place, I think, this would not be the problem it is today.
June 19th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Financial incentives? You really beleive that these girls did this for the welfare checks? This problem is a combination of abstinence only sex-ed and fundamentalist christanity, with a sprinkling of teen celeb voyeurism thown in to make it seem cool.
June 19th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
“overly generous welfare system,” that very well may be what the kids were thinking too…just wait ’till they get into it - - those children (both the mothers and their unborn babes) are going to suffer. No doubt in my mind. Poverty is not the same as voluntary simplicity - it’s a mind numbing grind and it takes a herculean effort to climb out of.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:34 am
I just think that societly is in general all going a little nuts and if our economy gets worse than you will see much more bazar behavior being shown by many of our cities residents. In desperate times people take desperate measures.
http://www.bostonknucklehead.com
June 20th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Apparently that TV reality show where teens borrow a baby for a week is starting too late. Whether they are enabled by welfare or MIA parents, these girls are about to discover the true meaning of the word “no”. Quite sad, really. Some kids smarten up sooner, some later. Most of the rest of us are tapped out from compassion fatigue. “I told you so” doesn’t help, but it’s all we have left.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
STOP PROPAGANDA FROM PEOPLE AND OK MAGAZINE AND OTHER TEENAGE SINGERS ETC WHO ARE NOT ADULTS AND CAN NOT BE CONSIDERED ADULT UNTIL THEY ARE FULLY MATURE AND GROWN AT THE AGE OF 25.
WHY and what example does this magazines provide to teenegers to go underage prostitution and underage sexlife as the person less than 25 is not mature enough to be a parent?
what kind of behaviour are this magazines marketing?
Is the Police and School going to charge magazines and hollywood films for propaganda of inappropriate behaviour as they encourage underage sexlife.
Why magazine supports people like Spears family and similar teens who are not mature enough, who went through underage prostitution and underage sexlife which is illegal in most states and countries and the parents of this girls simply do not care, and the girls are irresponsible and provide bad example to other students?
Under Massachusetts law, it is a crime to have sex with anyone under the age of 16 and in most countries if you are 18 you are not considered an adult not until you are fully mature at the age 25.
CHARGE THIS BOYS WITH RAPE EVENTHOUGH THIS GIRLS AS THEY ARE NAIVE AND UNDERAGE AND UNEDUCATED AND WITH NO ADVICE FROM PARENTS AND SCHOOL AND THEY WANTED TO BE RAPED AND USED
Through the papers you can see how people are outraged and dissappointed that one school and one principal and parents have approved.
Where are the parents for this girls ??
why does the school does not take a legal action and prosecute this parents for endangering young 15 to 20 year old life with parenthood.
This girls are not adults they can not raise a child.
An adult is a person mature and more than 25.
Someone who is underage and less than 30 years old with no money, no security, job, education can not be a parent.
What a nonsense is this?
What kind of behaviour is that this girls think other girls will be jelous on them and they want to raise a child at 15 to 20 y o.
how wrong they are and they only can look naive stupid and unintelligent in other people’s eyes?
This is also form of bullying as this girls are forcing other 90% of students “clean and educated and good behaved ” students into the same bahaviour and underage sex life.
What are we going to do and scholls, society against this girls for providing bad example and abusing other 90% of normal children students in school who have parents who care about them, who have love and support and training in family
and who know what illegal unprotected and underage sex life is.
legal and criminal charge and action for assult, insult and suspension of rapists and charge this boys for a rape and abuse
against all the boys under 25 who have used and abused this girls.
We do not blame this criminal gangs as they are only 15=18 and less than 25 and the people who are to blame is school who has done nothing to prevent verbal abuse and bullying and harressment of other people AND PARENTS OF THIS CHILDREN.
a psychologist who will could have a chat with students and talk with them about other students who may have commented about their phisical appearance, their looks, their accent or about their inteligence??
Is the city and government going to provide abortion or later to provide adoption of this 17 children
by people who are married or planning to get married and who are suitable for parenthood and more than 28 years old
Is the city going to charge and call police and suspend the boys who have abused this girls…
single parenthood can not provide appropriate raising for a child.