so Bristol Palin is pregnant at 17...big deal...the Palin family is "normal"...just like most families in the US...not saying it's "right," it just is...
Sarah Palin may "preach" abstinence, but doesn't every parent? I don't recall my mother telling me to go out and sleep with every guy I could find...
and of course, the follow-up was - "but if you are going to be sexually active, please use protection"...
how many parents are shocked by the news that their precious baby girl (that would of course never ever be promiscuous) is pregnant? this probably happens more than it should - but again, parents try to guide their kids and kids will be kids and not listen - even if the consequences are not pleasant...and it does "take two to tango" - I can only think of one case of immaculate conception...
but hey - did you know that Track Palin is in the Army and supposed to be deployed to Iraq? hmmm...again, just proves that the Palins are just like every other family in the US - dealing with teen pregnancy and family members serving overseas in the military...
I'm pro-choice and don't particularly like Sarah Palin's pro-life view (everyone is entitled to their opinion, however, I don't want a stranger telling me what I can and can't do with my own body when it comes to pregnancy)...but...
it seems to me, that if anyone knows what the American people are struggling through, it would be Sarah Palin...
4 comments:
Aren't you generous? What you forget is that this young lady comes from a privileged background, and has many advantages other young pregnant teens do not - thanks to Republicans. And she obvious did not receive the sex education they opposed, either.
"McCain fought money on teen pregnancy programs
Elections_Palin_Daughter_
By SHARON THEIMER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Republican John McCain, whose running mate disclosed that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, has opposed proposals to spend federal money on teen-pregnancy prevention programs and voted to require poor teen mothers to stay in school or lose their benefits.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's announcement Monday about her daughter Bristol was aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's. Palin said her daughter intends to raise her child and marry the baby's father, identified in news reports as Levi Johnston, 18, of Wasilla, a high school hockey player whom Bristol has dated for about one year. The baby is due in late December.
McCain's record on issues surrounding teen pregnancy and contraceptives during his more than two decades in the Senate indicates that he and Palin have similar views. Until Monday, when the subject surfaced in a deeply personal manner, teen pregnancy and sex education were not issues in the national political campaign.
Palin herself said she opposes funding sexual-education programs in Alaska.
"The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she wrote in a 2006 questionnaire distributed among gubernatorial candidates.
McCain's position on contraceptives and teen pregnancy issues has been difficult to judge on the campaign trail, as he appears uncomfortable discussing such topics. Reporters asked the presumptive GOP presidential nominee in November 2007 whether he supported grants for sex education in the United States, whether such programs should include directions for using contraceptives and whether he supports President Bush's policy of promoting abstinence.
"Ahhh, I think I support the president's policy," McCain said.
When a reporter asked McCain whether he thought contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV, he replied: "You've stumped me." McCain said later that he was sure he opposed government spending on contraceptives. Asked whether he would oppose condom distribution if he knew that condoms stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, McCain said he had never gotten into those issues before.
The McCain campaign on Monday did not respond to repeated requests for information.
In Senate votes, McCain has opposed some proposals to pay for teen-pregnancy prevention programs. In 2006, McCain joined fellow Republicans in voting against a Senate Democratic proposal to send $100 million to communities for teen-pregnancy prevention programs that would have included sex education about contraceptives.
In 2005, McCain opposed a Senate Democratic proposal that would have spent tens of millions of dollars to pay for pregnancy prevention programs other than abstinence-only education, including education on emergency contraception such as the morning-after pill. The bill also would have required insurance companies that cover Viagra to also pay for prescription contraception.
McCain voted for the Family Support Act in 1988, which passed overwhelmingly in the Senate and required teen mothers who receive public assistance to remain in high school and, in some cases, to live with their parents.
"Young parents who have not completed high school will be required to stay in or return to school to complete the basic education so necessary to a productive life," said President Reagan, as he signed the law in October 1988.
McCain cited abortion, sex education and birth control as some of the issues on which he differed with Joycelyn Elders, former President Clinton's nominee for surgeon general. He quoted Elders as telling lawmakers that abortion has had positive health effects, including reducing the number of children "afflicted with severe defects."
"As a father of a number of young children, including an adopted daughter who was born with a birth defect, I am deeply, deeply troubled by these views," McCain said in a 1993 speech opposing Elders' confirmation.
Palin's fifth child, a son named Trig, was born in April with Down syndrome, a genetic abnormality that impedes physical, intellectual and language development. Conservatives supportive of Palin as McCain's running mate have praised her choice to deliver Trig even after the family learned about his condition during prenatal testing.
McCain said the country unarguably had a problem with teen pregnancy, but said Elders' approach would only make it worse. He said Elders started a program to distribute condoms in schools, but the rate of teen pregnancy actually rose in those counties. When it turned out many of the condoms were defective, Elders decided to continue the program rather than halt it or inform the public of the risk, McCain added.
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Associated Press Writer Steve Quinn contributed to this story from Anchorage, Alaska."
but should sex education not start with the parents or guardians?
I did not say she would "suffer" like the average American girl because she undoubtably will not...she will not endure the hardships most pregnant teens do - but as a family, they have to have the same discussions and decisions that any family would have to face.
I do not agree with the candidates' stances, but what ever happened to personal responsibilty and accountability?
She's 17! Aren't we, as adults, MORE accountable to teach her than for her to go off flying blindly. This generation is intelligent, but common senseless. Our families, our clergy, and OUR GOVERNMENT are all responsible to them to help them get through their teen years, and help them to become "personally responsible and accountable" adults.
yes - I agree, I support sex education, but again, I believe it should all start with the parents...
it is a parent's responsibility (they got that lucky job when they decided to have a child) to try to guide them through life...
Sarah Palin did what most mothers do - said "don't have sex", but Bristol didn't listen and now she's pregnant...I'm sure she "knows where babies come from" yet still opted to have sex. At 17, taught sex education or not, she knew the potential consequences of being sexually active.
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