17 teenage girls at Glouscester High in Massachusetts are about to have a very abrupt and rude awakening due to the pregnancy pact these teen girls agreed to. A pregnancy pact made by a group of teens to get pregnant and raise their babies together is at least partly behind a sudden spike in pregnancies at Gloucester High School, school officials said.
Glouscester High’s Principal, Joseph Sullivan, told Time magazine in a story published on Wednesday that the girls confessed to making the pact after the school began investigating a rise in pregnancies that has left 17 girls at the school carrying a child. Normally, there are about four pregnancies a year at the school.
Some believe hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up make getting pregnant seem so appealing, as well as television shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager for glamorizing young unwed mothers, and I have to say I’ve been concerned about this as well. Tweens and teens seem to think that having babies is all fun and games, but as The Washington Post says, “Babies Are No Joke”, and I agree that Hollywood needs to accept some responsibility and get real.
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. Some of the girls reacted to the news they were pregnant with high fives and plans for baby showers, Sullivan said. So did their parents. “We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy,” the principal says, shaking his head.
Superintendent Christopher Farmer confirmed the pact, saying the girls had “an agreement to get pregnant.” He said the girls are generally “girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life.” The first reports of the students’ apparent plan to get pregnant were in the Gloucester Daily Times in March, when Sullivan said students were reporting that the girls were getting pregnant on purpose.
NBC’s new six-part series, “The Baby Borrowers”, debuts on Wednesday, June 25th. NBC and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy are attempting to warn teens about the dangers of pregnancy. On Baby Borrowers, five couples (18 to 20 years old) are given the opportunity to find out what life is really like taking care of babies, toddlers, tweens, teens and elderly folks, with all the details captured on camera. In my opinion, they’re starting several years too late, with greater attention needed on tweens and teens entering middle school and throughout high school.
On the show, the five teen couples live together for the first time and fast-forward through the various stages of parenthood, starting by wearing an “empathy belly,” then caring for a real live infant. After a few days, the couples move beyond babies to toddlers, preteens, young teenagers and eventually senior citizens.
Whatever happened to the Baby Think it Over life-size baby doll which allows teens to experience some of the demands of caring for babies? Since girls are getting pregnant at a much younger age, isn’t it about time parents and schools work together to educate tween and teen girls about sex, pregnancy and Parenting 101 starting at a much younger age? Most babies delivered by teen moms have absentee fathers, and the parents of pregnant teen girls often end up having to struggle through helping these babies raise their own babies. What a sad story for everyone involved.
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20 responses so far ↓
1 Karen Swim (4 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 8:48 am
When I first saw this story I was heartbroken. Each time I read it or hear about it my heart breaks all over again, for the girls who made the pact and for the babies to come who have been birthed in complete ignorance. I am saddened that these young girls were so hungry for validation that they saw getting pregnant as a solution. As a society, we must all stand up and take responsibility for what is becoming of the younger generation. Whether or not you are a parent, these children are ours and we must take more responsibility for the messages and values we are putting out there.
2 Adie (1 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 9:04 am
This is a very immature and irresponsible decision on the part of the teens. I just hope they come out of this wiser and stronger.
3 Lin (1019 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 9:26 am
It is mind-boggling to me why there aren’t programs educating the real facts of how hard it is to be a parent for kids as young as eleven or twelve, and why there aren’t “required courses” in schools that really make it clear just how difficult parenting is. My own daughter told me that kids in her school were saying they thought it would be “fun” to get pregnant and have a baby. What?! Fun?!
Having a baby is NOT like playing with dolls! I can’t say I feel sorry for these girls because they are about to learn a very hard lesson at a very young age. Their lives are about to change in ways they have no idea about. Yet. In a short time they will very likely be amongst the teen girls trying hard to educate other teens about NOT getting pregnant while they’re still so young. They won’t be laughing for much longer, or giving each other high fives for this decision to have a pregnancy pact. Truly absurd.
4 Sarah // Jun 22, 2008 at 9:51 am
Please look up the word “slut” in the dictionary. It does apply and, if the stigma to unwed birth still was around, the girls would not have their lives ruined. Boys are going to always seek sex; they are programmed for this and should be forced to live up to their obligations. Young girls are not dumb, but over millions of years, they have been bred to be submissive to males and to desire babies. It is our society in general which promotes this by brainwashing in TV and music, but the fantasy is only an illusion of happiness. It is political correctness and a failure to assign any blame by society which makes the slutty behavior (yes, it’s simply preventable behavior) acceptable in society. My point: It is just as impossible to reason with a teenager about avoiding sex as it is to convince an alcoholic to stop drinking. Parents need to set restrictions on their children’s activities and time (where did the copulation take place?) and learn to say no. Only then can parents prevent the little girls from becoming sluts.
5 Lin (1019 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:05 am
Hi Sarah, I have always hated the word “slut” and I don’t ever use that word. I disagree that it is “impossible to reason with a teenager about avoiding sex” until they are of age and maturity to handle the responsibilities of becoming a parent. One of the problems is that parents either don’t have conversations with their kids about sex, getting pregnant, sexually transmitted diseases etc at all, or parents assume these discussions are being handled within the school system. Both of those are the wrong options. Parents must talk to their kids beginning at a very young age about sex and everything associated with sex, and not leave it up to friends, schools or others to educate their own kids about important subjects such as this. It made me crazy when I read the news report saying that the parents of these pregnant teen girls were busy planning baby showers and expressing happiness about the pregnancies. These are the parents who will most likely be doing much of the parenting of these little babies as they grow up, because their daughters are obviously clueless.
6 Rebecca (1 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 1:17 pm
As terrible as the teen pregnancies are, I haven’t heard many people speaking out on the disgusting sexually immoral behavior of teenagers in this “modern” age. It is a disgrace that such slutty behavior is now the accepted norm, and most of the worrying is about pregnancies. Ya can’t have one without the other. The children are not being taught to save it until monogamous marriage. If anyone is going to talk about “safe sex,” that’s as safe as it can get, but it is ignored.
7 Telly // Jun 22, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I agree with Rebecca. Let the children keep having the babies. The liberals surely don’t care.
Liberal motto: “Abortion at any age, Sex at any age.”
8 Sammy // Jun 22, 2008 at 9:49 pm
These Gloucester girls are swigging whiskey, doing meth, smoking pot, and sucking God only knows what else…just give these little harlots some birth control pills so they will stop screwing up their family’s lives.
9 firerobin (1 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:28 pm
And here I thought the girls just wanted some attention …
I heard that as well, about movies like “Juno”being to blame. Give me a break.
10 Lin (1019 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I’ve heard a lot about the Juno movie, but since I’ve not seen Juno or Knocked Up, I have no solid opinion on it. I have no desire or interest in seeing either of those movies, so I will just have to allow others to come up with their own opinions on whether those particular movies have played a part in teen girls wanting to get pregnant.
11 Yvie (7 comments.) // Jun 22, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I think we shouldn’t always blame it on the media or outside stimulators of this “problem”. Thing is, these teens are now responsible for their own actions. Now that they have chosen to be moms, they should face the consequence of being one. Now, it all depends on maturity and having your “own” mind without deciding what people like your friends decides for you.
The movies are there yes. But it doesn’t mean you should emulate what you see. I only watch a movie but I don’t include it in my everyday life nor I consider it normal.
If one is easily swayed by peers or by other people—well that’s a big problem.
12 cory huff (3 comments.) // Jun 23, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I find some of these comments incredibly insensitive, especially the one by Telly. The Liberal motto is assuredly not “sex and abortions at any age.”
What’s more, the teens in question in Massachusetts never confessed to a “pregnancy pact.” See this Yahoo News article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_re_us/pregnancy_pact
Juno in no way glorifies teenage pregnancy, if anything it shows the hardships.
Grr…Sorry, Lin, if I’m a little ranty, but for me, ignorance breeds contempt. It’s so easy to judge. This is an excellent jumping off point for a discussion about the issue in general, but not for a free for all on these girls or their families.
13 Lin (1019 comments.) // Jun 23, 2008 at 5:29 pm
No problem Cory, I struggled with the decision as to whether or not to allow those comments through. As I said, I’ve not seen any of the movies that some people blame for “glorifying” teen pregnancy, so I have zero opinion on that. Teen pregnancy is of course a concern, but it’s really sad to hear reports of young girls talking about wanting to get pregnant for one reason or another, when it’s obvious they aren’t anywhere near being ready to become parents.
14 cory huff (5 comments.) // Jun 24, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I’m not advocating teenage pregnancy here, but some young girls really are ready to be parents. I know two girls off the top of my head who were 19 when they got married, and they had children right away. They’re happy, their kids are happy, and their husbands are happy (as far as I know - I could be wrong).
It’s so easy to jump to conclusions. Some people are ready to be parents earlier than others.
15 Lin (1019 comments.) // Jun 24, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Cory, I personally don’t think of girls that age to be “teens” per se, even though they are nineTEEN. My concern is for girls much younger than that, barely into their teen years. 12, 13, 14, 15 etc. I got married when I was 17, and had my first child at the age of 19, and I was absolutely ready for my child.
The girls in the news story were reported as being no older than 16, with some girls being younger than that. Legally “kids” become adults when they are 18, so girls getting pregnant at the age of 19 or so is no big issue for me. It’s the girls that are much younger than that that I find disturbing.
16 bek // Jun 25, 2008 at 12:25 am
i think that people need to stop blaming movies for teens getting preg. its Hollywood… Movies… not reality…. so of course its fake not real.. if people cant see that then maybe they shouldnt be watching show’s of movies without someone to explain that its not really like that in the real world… if they’re that dumb to think that life is like a movie then they really need to grow up… People shouldnt blame Hollywood for teens being stupid.. girls and guys younger then 17 having babies because its “so cool and fun” are stupid they need to grow up. they shouldnt even be having sex anyways..
i got married when i was 20, and now iam 21 and starting to think about starting my family.. but i dont know if Iam 100% ready and iam a nanny, but being with a new born 24/7 is a lot of work..
and most likely their mommy and daddy will be raising their babies, or taking care of them so they can go out and be teenagers.. but i hope they dont, so they can see what they got there selfs into.
its very disturbing that young girls are getting preganant younger and younger each year…
17 simone // Jun 25, 2008 at 3:40 pm
oh…i forgot to mention that the show baby borrowers premieres tonight june 25th at 9pm on nbc for those of you who want to watch it…it’s a great show for moms like us…i highly recommend it…to learn about parenting…:)
18 Pregnant (1 comments.) // Jun 27, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I cannot believe these girls what were they thinking? At that age they have no idea what they are in for there is just no way. But the fact is it is done and they have to live with there choices. Guess some have to learn the hard way.
19 Jennifer (2 comments.) // Jun 29, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I’m still in shock about this story. Absolutely surreal. Not its just a media showdown over whether there really was a pact or not.
20 The Secret Life of The American Teenager is No Secret After All | Telling It Like It Is // Jul 21, 2008 at 8:50 am
[…] increased media attention on teen pregnancy, including that of the Gloucester High School Pregnancy Pact (later debunked) has made the topic of teens getting pregnant fertile ground for the networks. […]
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