What the hell?!

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1815845,00.html
http://wbztv.com/local/gloucester.high.school.2.751873.html

Quote :

"Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head. The question of what to do next has divided this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006—the first increase in 15 years—Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control. In any case, many residents worry that the problem goes much deeper. The past decade has been difficult for this mostly white, mostly blue-collar city (pop. 30,000). In Gloucester, perched on scenic Cape Ann, the economy has always depended on a strong fishing industry. But in recent years, such 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." The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m." The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. "We're proud to help the mothers stay in school," says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center. But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High's student clinic, she and the clinic's medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts. Currently Gloucester teens must travel about 20 miles (30 km) to reach the nearest women's health clinic; younger girls have to get a ride or take the train and walk. But the notion of a school handing out birth control pills has met with hostility. Says Mayor Carolyn Kirk: "Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children." The pair resigned in protest on May 30. Gloucester's elected school committee plans to vote later this summer on whether to provide contraceptives. But that won't do much to solve the issue of teens wanting to get pregnant. Says rising junior Kacia Lowe, who is a classmate of the pactmakers': "No one's offered them a better option." And better options may be a tall order in a city so uncertain of its future. —with reporting by Kimberley McLeod/New York "

People really are fucking stupid.

6/19/2008 3:38:26 PM

Quote :

"24-year-old homeless guy"

that's the worst part in my opinion.

6/19/2008 3:41:41 PM

Quote :

"People really are fucking stupid. emotionally damaged"

6/19/2008 3:42:10 PM

Quote :

"this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006—the first increase in 15 years—Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control."

fucking Catholic idiot parents, still clinging to "every sperm is sacred", while their daughters are getting knocked up by homeless guys

6/19/2008 4:25:32 PM

Why is this in SB?

Go back to making pointless and endlessly repetitive Obama threads please.

6/19/2008 4:25:36 PM

Quote :

"EPIC PARENTING FAILURE"

6/19/2008 4:31:16 PM

lol this is ridic

[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 4:58 PM. Reason : ]

6/19/2008 4:58:09 PM

I grew up very close to Gloucester (we always kicked their ass in football) and this is shocking to me. It's a very quiet, beautiful, seemingly educated area. I'm only a few years older than these girls, but when hanging out with Gloucester kids in HS it never seemed like something like this was in the works. Not quite sure how to take this...

6/19/2008 5:10:57 PM

this is a good thing...narrows the field

[Edited on June 19, 2008 at 5:16 PM. Reason : .]

6/19/2008 5:15:53 PM

yeah i've always found it deeply ironic that Catholics oppose birth control and are also the spear heads of the anti-abortion movement. You think they would embrace birth control as a way to decrease the immoral satanic act of abortion.

Nevertheless where can i meet some of these 16 year old chicks that want to fuck.

6/19/2008 5:28:16 PM

[fail]

6/19/2008 5:38:11 PM

parents -> teach your daughters not to be whores. kthxbye

6/19/2008 6:02:36 PM

Of course, given that this is a pregnancy pact who's sole goal is impregnation, I seriously doubt free birth control will have any real impact in this particular case.

6/19/2008 6:09:38 PM

^ That's exactly what I was thinking... I can't believe people are blabbering on about birth control in this scenario.

Here is the gist of the situation:

Quote :

""They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "

These girls are unloved [or so they think/feel]. They want to have kids so that at least someone will love them.

6/19/2008 6:57:40 PM

Quote :

" "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m.""

As a new mother, AMEN.

I do not think that there has ever been a child that was more planned and wanted than my son. But it still takes every ounce of fortitude and patience that I have at times to be a good mother and keep my sanity in tact. I do not know how I would have coped with the stresses of motherhood as a teenager.

I completely and totally understand why teenage girls feel that having a baby is a way to fill a perceived lacking in their lives. But why in the hell would adults want to make it EASIER for these girls to get pregnant by stripping them of knowledge, power, and control over their own bodies.

That is one thing that really pisses me off about NC's abstinence only education policy. We have a high STD transmission rate and teenage pregnancy rate, but we still insist on continuing a policy that obviously does not work. Teaching comprehensive sex ed and providing easy access to birth control does not give them permission to go out there and have sex as some adults claim, it empowers them with knowledge and resources.

6/19/2008 7:41:15 PM

WHERE WERE THESE GIRLS WHEN I WAS A 24-YEAR-OLD HOMELESS GUY????

:grr:

6/19/2008 7:48:25 PM

this is fucked up

USA #1

6/19/2008 8:00:59 PM

Quote :

"That is one thing that really pisses me off about NC's abstinence only education policy. "

since when does NC have an abstinence only policy??

I remember learning about safe sex and birth control in Flehbs. Just that they heavily emphasize and push for "abstinence as the best method" and utilize scary statistics to fulfill their goal.

6/19/2008 8:21:44 PM

^1995

6/19/2008 8:27:24 PM

I taught comprehensive sex education classes through an outside organization that was intended to specifically make up for the gaping hole in NC's sex ed curriculum. Surprisingly enough, church youth groups made up a huge chunk of people who utilized our services.

Quote :

"The door slammed shut in 1995, when legislators mandated K—nine public-school sex education organized around “the positive benefits of abstinence until marriage and the risks of premarital sexual activity.” Under the Healthful Living Curriculum, “abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage” is the “expected standard," while a “monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage” is the best method of avoiding STIs. "

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/issues-action/sex-education/education-carolina-13093.htm

6/19/2008 8:33:55 PM

abstinence by far is the safest way to avoid pregnancy and contraction of STD's (as much as many of you out there hate it, it's just plain true). having unprotected sex can (and in some cases very easily) get you pregnant, and possibly STD's. birth control and condoms are highly effective.

personally my vote is for abstinence for a load reasons not even mentioned. if you just have to have sex, at least have the common sense of a brick to protect yourself. having a child will NEVER make anyone's life easier. STD's will NEVER make anyone's life better. what's so hard to understand?

6/20/2008 12:46:51 AM

Quote :

"abstinence by far is the safest way to avoid pregnancy and contraction of STD's (as much as many of you out there hate it, it's just plain true). having unprotected sex can (and in some cases very easily) get you pregnant, and possibly STD's. birth control and condoms are highly effective. personally my vote is for abstinence for a load reasons not even mentioned. if you just have to have sex, at least have the common sense of a brick to protect yourself. having a child will NEVER make anyone's life easier. STD's will NEVER make anyone's life better. what's so hard to understand? "

comprehensive sex ed doesn't say anything different than what you're saying. But the statistics show very clearly that students under an abstinence only policy are dangerously misinformed compared to other students. No one is saying at all that we should tell kids to go out and screw, what they're saying is make sure when they do anyway, they know exactly the risks and best practices involved.

6/20/2008 1:29:50 AM

Pics of the girls or it didn't happen.....

Wonder if they will press criminal charges if they find out the daddies are all older???

6/20/2008 1:51:50 AM

Quote :

"abstinence by far is the safest way to avoid pregnancy and contraction of STD's (as much as many of you out there hate it, it's just plain true). having unprotected sex can (and in some cases very easily) get you pregnant, and possibly STD's. birth control and condoms are highly effective."

Obviously all this is true, but that's not the question. The question is, what should horny teenagers in a sex-filled society be made aware of? You can teach them to be abstinent, and that is certainly the safest way for them to go. But surveys and studies have shows that highly religious students or kids that have only been taught abstinence wait an average of 3-months longer to have sex, then when they do they're much less likely to use protection than kids who have had sex-ed that covers condoms and birth control.

6/20/2008 7:35:33 AM

Quote :

"fucking Catholic idiot parents, still clinging to "every sperm is sacred", while their daughters are getting knocked up by homeless guys"

Wait a minute. What is birth control going to do if the girls WANT to get pregnant? It's a failure of parenting. Not a failure to use birth control. One girl got knocked up by a homeless guy... do you think she's going to take the pill?

Wow. Blame the religion, not the parents/girls.

6/20/2008 8:25:12 AM

did you not see the sentence that I quoted? try again:

Quote :

"Quote : "this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006—the first increase in 15 years—Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control." fucking Catholic idiot parents, still clinging to "every sperm is sacred", while their daughters are getting knocked up by homeless guys"

6/20/2008 8:31:41 AM

That is their right. THey haven't had this problem before and this problem surely cannot be corrected by birth control which is up to the individual to actively take.

6/20/2008 8:45:30 AM

the 24 year old homeless guy pulled off some magic.

6/20/2008 8:59:27 AM

LOL. How's he going to afford the child support?

6/20/2008 9:05:52 AM

gotta pay a fraction of what he begs for

6/20/2008 9:07:07 AM

Quote :

"Wait a minute. What is birth control going to do if the girls WANT to get pregnant? It's a failure of parenting. Not a failure to use birth control. One girl got knocked up by a homeless guy... do you think she's going to take the pill? Wow. Blame the religion, not the parents/girls."

Seriously. Are you people dumb enough to think these girls would have used birth control?

News Flash: handing out contraceptives or abortifacents (sp?) in schools is not the answer here. But I know that won't stop the left wing lunatics from holding this up as an example of why we should pass out birth control to every girl in public school.

agentlion How would this situation be different if the girls had been offered birth control? These girls WANTED to get pregnant. You should really work on your reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.

[Edited on June 20, 2008 at 9:25 AM. Reason : .]

6/20/2008 9:21:25 AM

jesus christ - i'm not saying this situation would be any different. I'm saying the whole abstinence-only culture in general is fucking retarded. that's why the only sentence I quoted from the story was about the parents still wanting to restrict access to birth control. Obviously the girls in this particular pact wouldn't have used it, but the overall point is still valid - teaching abstinence and restricting birth control will not prevent kids from having sex or getting pregnant - even kids who don't want to get pregnant.

6/20/2008 9:34:30 AM

^How about having a little respect for the religious beliefs of others. You can make your arguments without trashing their "idiotic Catholic beliefs" or using "Jesus" as a curse word. That type of arrogant attitude is the reason this country is so divided right now. Do you really expect to make any progress in a discussion if all you do is hurl insults?

6/20/2008 9:41:49 AM

if someone's religious beliefs are backwards and potentially harmful, then no, i will not respect that. I respect their right to hold that belief or opinion, but that doesn't mean I have to respect the actual belief or the consequences of it.

6/20/2008 9:56:48 AM

^THAT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE THEIR CATHOLIC BELIEFS TAUGHT THEM TO SLEEP WITH RANDOM HOMELESS DUDE TO GET PREGNANT.

So what makes a belief backwards? Is it the fact that it is different from your own?

6/20/2008 10:01:58 AM

i've said two or three times already that my beef with the catholics in this story is their overall aversion to birth control and abstinence education. nothing to do with these sluts sleeping with homeless guys

6/20/2008 10:09:10 AM

Quote :

"How about having a little respect for the religious beliefs of others."

Not when they don't have respect for my beliefs. Fuck them and the cross they're nailed to.

6/20/2008 10:26:29 AM

Quote :

"How about having a little respect for the religious beliefs of others. "

The religious aren't noted for their respect of other's religions, or for the irreligious. Maybe when Christians stop telling people their god is going to torture them for all eternity because he loves them, when they stop spouting off "the fool has said in his heart", when they stop saying that nonbelievers aren't Americans, (GHW Bush), when they stop using the word "secular" as an insult, then maybe they'll be in a better position to demand some respect.

6/20/2008 10:39:32 AM

Quote :

"i've said two or three times already that my beef with the catholics in this story is their overall aversion to birth control and abstinence education. nothing to do with these sluts sleeping with homeless guys"

What is your problem with abstinence? I see plenty of well-documented reasons for supporting it. You can't just call people stupid and say you're right. Why do you think your opinion is more valid than theirs?

Quote :

"The differences in emotional health between sexually active and inactive teens are clear. However, it is possible that the differences in emotional well-being might be driven by social background factors rather than sexual activity per se. For example, if students of lower socioeco­nomic status are more likely to be sexu­ally active, the greater frequency of depression among those teens might be caused by socioeconomic status rather than sexual activity. To account for that possibility, additional analy­sis was performed in which race, gender, exact age, and family income were entered as control variables. This means that each teen was compared to other teens who were identical in gender, age, race, and income. The introduction of these control or back­ground variables had virtually no effect on the cor­relations between sexual activity and depression and suicide. In simple terms, when teens were compared to other teens who were identical in gender, race, age and family income, those who were sexually active were significantly more likely to be depressed and to attempt suicide than were those who were not sexually active."

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Abstinence/cda0304.cfm

Quote :

"Based on calculations by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), it appears that increased abstinence among women accounted for approximately one-quarter of the drop in the US teen pregnancy rate between 1995 and 1998. 1"

http://www.etr.org/recapp/stats/index.htm

6/20/2008 10:59:24 AM

statistics are like kryptonite to liberals.

6/20/2008 11:23:15 AM

Quote :

"What is your problem with abstinence? I see plenty of well-documented reasons for supporting it."

NOTHING, fuck, what is wrong with you? I completely agree - most teenagers, or at least high-schoolers, don't need to be having sex.

The problem is with abstinence only education because that is what doesn't work. It has been shows that kids that get that education only postpone eventually having sex by about 3 months, and when they (almost inevitably) do end up having sex, they are less likely to use protection, and therefore more likely to get pregnant or an STD.

6/20/2008 11:27:24 AM

^ where do those stats come from?

6/20/2008 11:28:04 AM

http://www.alternet.org/story/37956/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48509-2005Mar18.html
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2005.063305v1

6/20/2008 11:38:56 AM

what those stats tell ME, is that if you want to fuck, go find a depressed chick.

because depressed people are more likely to look for self-validation in casual sex.

but leave it to religious wankers like the Heritage Foundation to try and turn it around as if "sex causes depression"

its shit like this that just underscores the fact that you people have no idea how science works, and any time you even attempt to use research data to support your own foregone bible-based conclusions --- you will inevitably fuck it up six ways to sunday.

6/20/2008 11:39:39 AM

i'm not sure where I heard the 3-months statistic. Here are some other studies that I can find

this one says there is no effect on when they have sex, but it does dispute the claim (that I made) that they are more likely to have unprotected sex
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/abstinencereport.asp

Quote :

"A recent study of four abstinence education programs, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., finds that the programs had no effect on the sexual abstinence of youth. But it also finds that youth in these programs were no more likely to have unprotected sex, a concern that has been raised by some critics of these programs."

from
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_sexEd2006.html

Quote :

"n 2002, only 62% of sexually experienced female teens had received instruction about contraception before they first had sex, compared with 72% in 1995. Lindberg LD, Changes in formal sex education: 1995–2002, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(4):182–189."

6/20/2008 11:46:46 AM

Quote :

"but leave it to religious wankers like the Heritage Foundation to try and turn it around as if "sex causes depression" its shit like this that just underscores the fact that you people have no idea how science works, and any time you even attempt to use research data to support your own foregone bible-based conclusions --- you will inevitably fuck it up six ways to sunday."

Did you even read what I linked to?

I guess the only statistics we're allowed to use are the ones that support your point of view.

Quote :

" The religious aren't noted for their respect of other's religions, or for the irreligious. Maybe when Christians stop telling people their god is going to torture them for all eternity because he loves them, when they stop spouting off "the fool has said in his heart", when they stop saying that nonbelievers aren't Americans, (GHW Bush), when they stop using the word "secular" as an insult, then maybe they'll be in a better position to demand some respect."

Quote :

"Not when they don't have respect for my beliefs. Fuck them and the cross they're nailed to."

First of all, I have to say I appreciate the honesty here. No, this is not sarcasm, I'm serious. Most of the times I have been in a conversation with someone who claims to have an intellectual barrier to belief in God, they really just have hatred toward God-believers. I've found that if I refute the objections of most atheists/ agnostics, they eventually become angry and tell a story of a Christian who did something hurtful to them. I respect that both of you don't try to cover up/ whitewash your true beliefs.

My problem with both of these views is the blatant hypocrisy and inconsistency within them. If its not okay for a "religious" person to disrespect your beliefs, why do you believe it is moral/ acceptable to disrespect their beliefs? If you consistently condemn hatred and intolerance, why do you maintain such angry, vengeful attitudes? I just don't understand why college educated Americans in the 21st century are so opposed to a free exchange of ideas.

6/20/2008 12:12:51 PM

I for one find it highly interesting to talk to really super religious people about their beliefs...they tell me the things most people think is common knowledge on religion cause i dont know shit about religion

6/20/2008 12:16:15 PM

Quote :

""n 2002, only 62% of sexually experienced female teens had received instruction about contraception before they first had sex, compared with 72% in 1995. Lindberg LD, Changes in formal sex education: 1995–2002, Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2006, 38(4):182–189."

Didn't the average age at which kids were first having sex decrease during that same time period? So wouldn't it make sense that they wouldn't be receiving instruction before hand as they hadn't been talked to by either the school or their parents?

6/20/2008 12:24:13 PM

i guess so but that doesnt make it any less disturbing

6/20/2008 12:25:51 PM

Quote :

"Between 1995 and 2002, the number of teens aged 15–17 who had ever engaged in sexual intercourse declined 10%."

Quote :

"The pregnancy rate among U.S. women aged 15–19 has declined steadily—from 117 pregnancies per 1,000 women in 1990 to 75 per 1,000 women in 2002"

Quote :

"Approximately 14% of the decline in teen pregnancy between 1995 and 2002 was due to teens’ delaying sex or having sex less often, while 86% was due to an increase in sexually experienced teens’ contraceptive use."

Quote :

"Though teens in the United States have levels of sexual activity similar to levels among their Canadian, English, French and Swedish peers, they are more likely to have shorter and more sporadic sexual relationships and are less likely to use contraceptives."

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_sexEd2006.html

Quote :

"Girls need to be aware they may be able to tell when a kiss is leading to something else. The girl may need to put the brakes on first in order to help the boy."

Quote :

"A woman is far more attracted by a man's personality while a man is stimulated by sight. A man is usually less discriminating about those to whom he is physically attracted."

I don't see anything wrong with teaching teens about the differences between boys and girls. The article cited is anything but objective in its anecdotal analysis of sex ed.

http://www.alternet.org/story/37956/?page=2

6/20/2008 12:30:17 PM