On Demand
Gloucester Pact?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
We get an update on the "pregnancy pact" story - or rumor? - from Patrick Anderson, reporter at the Gloucester Daily Times.
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our whole nation suffers from mental illness.
I find it interesting that it has been reported that these girls will raise their kids collectively. Something many women might want to think about due to the lack of affordable childcare and minimal maternity leave in the US.
Here's an interesting factoid.
Apparently the parents in Glouster
complained about anything EXCEPT
Abstinence education...
Guess that backfired.
Have you looked at the numbers of teen parents (and in-school daycare facilities) here in NY?
Why is this news just because the girls are white, native born and middle class?
by the way what is the race of these girls, ...Well, there you go, Now we know.
since there's not a pact- then what's the continued story for? It's better for these girls to be in school then not to be....it should be mentioned that a very high percentage of sex ed programs today are abstinence only, and therefore would not help to prevent pregnancies like these.
I am an NYC public school teacher (Bushwick) and I can say that we have a pretty serious problem on our hands-- it is very painful to watch students you love have babies and not make it out of high school. I always hope they will return but even with the free day care, few do.
My mother used to teach at Redirection High School in Brooklyn, for kids trying to get back on the education track after having dropped out (for reasons ranging from pregnancy to arrest). The school had a day care center to help girls with babies attend class.
My mom said a lot of the girls who had had babies had done it because it gave them a sense of belonging, a feeling they could create and bring something of value into the world. Some, too, hoped for love and caring from the fathers of the children.
Life imitating art, perhaps? Can anybody say "Juno"?
Yes, maybe it was "No Child Left Behind" - none of these girls wanted to be left behind, so they all joined in.
To me, this is clearly similar behavior to "copycat" crimes, to people wearing the same brand clothes to be cool, or the "groupthink" that got us embroiled in the Iraq war.
It's very human, in fact. And the publicity may just spawn additional pregnancy outbreaks.
We shall see....
I am very familiar with Gloucester. A good friend of mine is from there and I've spent a lot of time there myself. Gloucester is a working fishing town with an ethic not unlike the rural south. Having children while young is NOTHING NEW. There is a certain nostalgia for the good old days that in this case never existed. G-town has about 30,000 people in it. It doesn't take much to make a spike.
Steve from Brooklyn but originally Worcester MA
GOOD LORD Please stop blaming films like Juno for something like this. Being from Ma. and having worked in Gloucester for years I can say with confidence that this community is under constant stress. At one point it was the Heroin capital of the country, the Moonies have tarnished the town and the deterioration of the North Atlantic Fishing grounds are all responsible for this. To suggest that a film might be responsible is incredibly irresponsible.
I left New York 1 year ago but continue listen to wnyc online because of the intelligent and thought provoking conversation. This story is neither one of these.
kids these days have great sex lives. not in my day.
markbnj
but maybe the parents wanted grandchilden. people love their grandchilden.
I don't blame them for not wanting to use birth control. It is so uncomfortable. Better without the condoms.
I have to agree with the previous caller. Pact or no pact, the fact that this happened in a sleepy little Capra-esque, caucasian town makes this news whereas, the fact that "spikes" like this happen everyday in minority communities. The only problem is that the girls in minority communities don't neccessarily stay in school and if they do, the pregnancy is never questioned.
As a side note; I've actually been first hand witness to girls in my high school back in the 90's who made a similar pact to this and never made the news.
Juno was released in NY and LA in DECEMBER 2007 - 6 months after these girls became pregnant - the timing doesn't work to blame the media. And did not reach Gloucester until at least 2 months after that! Perhaps we should look closer to home - lack of options for teen girls/absentee parents/boring suburban life?
AND WHERE ARE THE BOYS IN ALL THIS?
Lauren
can you talk about the self esteem of these girls?
and what kind of men they have in their lives?
Is this Loony liberalism – where Juno and the message of alternatives to abortion is blamed for teenage pregnancy rather than the message of permissiveness and uber-sexuality that is being touted by the rest of Hollywood? Isn't preventing unwanted pregnancy through sex education and yes including abstinence more important than any challenge to the notion of abortion?
Yes, we need Free Federally paid Day care in this country starting at six months old (and also ma/paternity leave until 6 months (paid! also)
See Here for more info!
http://sos-newdeal.blogspot.com/2008/06/proposal-day-care-and-maternity-leave.html
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