Teen Pregnancy pact

[Ender]

link

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (WBZ) ― There's a stunning twist to the sudden rise in teen pregnancies at Gloucester High School. Seventeen students there are expecting and many of them became that way on purpose.

Time Magazine first reported that nearly half of the girls confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. None of them is older than 16.

Schools Superintendent Christopher Farmer told WBZ's Bill Shields Thursday the girls had "an agreement to get pregnant."

Farmer said these are generally "girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life."

"The common threat is the lack of self-esteem and purpose in life, and a lack of a sense of direction," said Farmer. "Young women wanting and needing affection."

Principal Joseph Sullivan has not returned calls from WBZ for comment.

Sullivan told the magazine that the pact wasn't the only shocking incident.

"We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," he told Time.

Last month, two top officials at the high school's health center resigned in a fight over contraceptives distribution.

Medical Director Dr. Brian Orr and chief nurse practitioner Kim Daly support confidentially giving contraceptives to students. They were outraged about resistance from Addison Gilbert Hospital, which administers the state public health grant that funds the school clinic.

Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year.

According to Time, school officials started looking into the spike in pregnancies after an unusual number of girls came to the school clinic for pregnancy tests. Some came by several times.

"Some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan told the magazine.

The pregnant girls and their parents turned down requests to be interviewed.

A recent graduate who had a baby during her freshman year told Time she knows why the girls wanted to get pregnant.

"They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Amanda Ireland, 18, said. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."

Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy.

"I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned."

WBZ has also tried to contact Mayor Carolyn Kirk and Public Health Director Jack Vondras. Both are said to be out of town this week.

Beyond the social implications of the pregnancies, there are some legal questions being asked, including whether the men who fathered the babies will face charges of statutory rape.

Jesus.

[FireNexus]

Wait...

Teenagers make stupid, far-ranging decisions. No!

In all seriousness, I expect NBC's new reality to show to curb this particular phenomenon before it gets off the ground anywhere else.

[Darth Ruinus]

Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year.

What?

In my 4 years of high school 2 girls got pregnant. But these people have 4 pregnancies per year? Fuck, something is wrong in that school, and it started before this pregnancy pact thing.

Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy.

"I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned."

Right, it happened for a "reason" and not because she is an idiot and had unprotected sex at an early age.

[The Yosemite Bear]

does this mean they should get their own housing project or trailer park?

[Master of Cards]

Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year.

What?

In my 4 years of high school 2 girls got pregnant. But these people have 4 pregnancies per year? Fuck, something is wrong in that school, and it started before this pregnancy pact thing.

Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy.

"I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned."

Right, it happened for a "reason" and not because she is an idiot and had unprotected sex at an early age.

My high school has about 10 a year mate.

[Mayabird]

So, is this a school in an area with a high poverty rate with a lot of single moms raising kids that they birthed in their teens, after which the daddies ran off and left them to fend for themselves with minimum wage jobs? IOW are they continuing the cycle, INTENTIONALLY?

This is disgusting. They are unfit to be parents. At best. At worst, they should be deported to my hometown.

[TithonusSyndrome]

Farmer said these are generally "girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life."

"The common threat is the lack of self-esteem and purpose in life, and a lack of a sense of direction," said Farmer. "Young women wanting and needing affection."

This about sums up one of my exes, who lo and behold, has had two children from separate fathers in her desperate pursuit of her idyllic dream family, the second of which she was fortunate enough to have with a man with sincere familial aspirations. Nearly pure lotto.

Sullivan told the magazine that the pact wasn't the only shocking incident.

"We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," he told Time.

Jesus skullfucking christ, you kids, babies aren't accessories that go well with a certain pair of boots and scarves, they're fucking people. But what the fuck would you know?

[KlavoHunter]

From the Something Awful forums:

What I don't get is how this idea arose that the main emotion of having a baby is a warm glow of being unconditionally loved. Your baby loves you, yes, but will scream relentlessly and mercilessly for whatever it needs, without enlightening you to what that is, and whatever your mental state happens to be. It does not know or care if you are hungry, tired, sick or desperate for the loo. It is impervious to reason or pleading, it knows no mercy or patience. It will look at you with eyes full of adoration - and will fly into a hysterical frenzy of rage and terror when you leave the room for 30 seconds. And when it has a chest infection and is put on antibiotics which give it diarrhoea, and you are changing the ninth nappy of the day, with every cough it will violently squirt liquid poo out at jet propelled force, all over your jeans.

Nicely put. I especially liked the "It is impervious to reason or pleading, it knows no mercy or patience" line. I think a lot of prospective parents would be better served to think of their future child as a crying, pooping Terminator than a quiet, docile little angel.

This sums up my view on this rather nicely.

[Darth Ruinus]

My high school has about 10 a year mate.

Ten pregnancies per year?

[Andrew_Fireborn]

My high school has about 10 a year mate.

Ten pregnancies per year?

Teenagers are stupid. In some places, it can actually give them a leg up... (Government leeches.) but most of it is simply basic pleasure seeking, damn the consequences, stuff that is the reason almost everyone hates teenagers.

[Jadeite]

Klavo: stairs?

[Jadeite]

Ah goddamnit, I hate when I hit submit on accident before I was ready to post. Anyway, this doesn't really surprise me that much. Surging hormones, bloated ideas of self-maturity, short-sighted attention spans to the point that "next month" is "long-term planning" and a string of bad relationships are recipes for this type of thing.

[cosmicalstorm]

Im expecting a couple of babies to end up in the trashcan when these girls realize a baby isnt something that goes well along with a party lifestyle.

[Melchior]

In my 4 years of high school 2 girls got pregnant. But these people have 4 pregnancies per year? Fuck, something is wrong in that school, and it started before this pregnancy pact thing.

How do you know that they are equally sized and, so, comparable?

[Dooey Jo]

"We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," he told Time.

Teen to hobo: "I'll buy you a hot meal if you impregnate me."

[Mr. Coffee]

Only four pregnancies a year? Fuck, there were 12 pregnant girls in just my graduating class, never mind the whole four years. But then again, I did go to one of the most ghetto high schools in St. Louis.

[The Spartan]

My high school has about 10 a year mate.

Ten pregnancies per year?

How big is your high school (or equivalent)?

When I graduated there were about 750 in my class. And we were the small class. The whole school, all four grades, was around 3700 students at that point as I recall.

10 pregnancies would be a relatively, small percentage. 1/185 or slightly more than half a percent.

[CmdrWilkens]

Couple thoughts...

1) For all the dads older than the relevant age for statutory needs to be given the hammer and hopefully ALSO made to help pay for the kid (after all you can make some money in jail so you can be forced to pay some child support pretty easily).

2) I'd really like to hear more about what the controversies were between the on-site healthcare staff and the county health services folks.

3) I'm all onboard teaching folks that children are screaming/pooping Terminators in their first middle school sex-ed class onwards through high school.

4) I think for the one girl who gave the "happens for a reason" speech it was more so in line with the sort of acceptance/fatalism that I've had myself. That is I know things in the past that I've done probably fucked up my future a lot but at the same time I wouldn't be the person I am today without those experiences so its really hard to say they were that bad. For her I really see it as an understanding that pregnancy wasn't a good move and she should have protected herself against it...BUT she likes who she is today and loves her kid so saying that it was a mistake implies not wanting to keep the toddler.

[Oskuro]

What, are suicide pacts out of fashion now? At least that way there won't be suffering children.

</Internet Tough Guy Comment>

I only remember a single pregnancy back when I was a senior at the American-Nicaraguan School.... Although I believe it happened in middle school, not high school, and the kids were forced to marry and enjoy a pretty unhappy life.

What really irks me about this, is that the girls did want to get pregnant on purpose, wich makes me suspect that some of the guys might have been manipulated or deceived into the act. Feels like an awful can of worms.

[Broomstick]

Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy.

"I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned."

Right, it happened for a "reason" and not because she is an idiot and had unprotected sex at an early age.

The phrasing may also have something to do with a reluctance to call another human being a mistake. That's a harsh thing to call a child who, after all, had no say in his/her conception. The girl made some mistakes that lead to her getting pregnant, but the child is not a mistake, the child is a human being.

Awkward language at times, but it's better than the prior attitudes where society wound up punishing bastards for life because of what their parents did.

[Szass Tam]

Just out of curiosity, how did you guys get stats on how many pregnancies your high school had per year? I remember two girls getting pregnant because I heard gossip (and I was usually pretty up on who was fisting who or whatever), but to my knowledge we didn't publish statistics.

[Schuyler Colfax]

Normally, the school has about four pregnancies per school year.

What?

In my 4 years of high school 2 girls got pregnant. But these people have 4 pregnancies per year? Fuck, something is wrong in that school, and it started before this pregnancy pact thing.

Ireland also spoke with WBZ about her young pregnancy.

"I don't call it a mistake because the way I look at is everything happens for a reason," Ireland said. "But, no, she was not planned."

Right, it happened for a "reason" and not because she is an idiot and had unprotected sex at an early age.

My high school has about 10 a year mate.

Fuck that, my school way more and sad enough I actually know some of them.

[Mr. Coffee]

Just out of curiosity, how did you guys get stats on how many pregnancies your high school had per year? I remember two girls getting pregnant because I heard gossip (and I was usually pretty up on who was fisting who or whatever), but to my knowledge we didn't publish statistics.

Counting the swollen bellies and noticing sudden absences (when they finally give birth to their little mulligan). Not that hard to do, just requires you pay attention to what's going on around you.

[Schuyler Colfax]

Fuck that, my school way more and sad enough I actually know some of them.

Hmmm, I actually sounded as if I were proud.

[Mr. Coffee]

Fuck that, my school way more and sad enough I actually know some of them.

Hmmm, I actually sounded as if I were proud.

Look on the bright side, dude... At least your not the daddy. This is one of those circumstances where you can be proud that you're not getting any.