Massachussets town alarmed by pregnancy pact reports

*Sewer Bull* · 06-21-2008, 02:02 AM

This news made me chuckle. Now sue me.

I also love how they blame Hollywood for that.

=====
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The girls showed up repeatedly at the high school health clinic, asking for pregnancy tests. But their reactions to the test results were puzzling: high-fives if they were expecting, long faces if they weren't.

School officials in this hard-luck New England fishing town say an alarming 17 girls — four times the usual number — became pregnant this year. And even more disturbing: Some of the girls may have made a pact to have babies and raise them together.

"A typical girl you would think would say, 'Oh my God! What am I going to do now? How am I going to support this baby? How am I going to finish school?"' Superintendent Christopher Farmer said. "These young women clearly have not seen that."

The story exploded after Joseph Sullivan, the principal of Gloucester High School, was quoted by Time magazine this week as saying the girls confessed to making such a pact. Sullivan was on vacation Friday and did not return calls for comment.

The superintendent said he had no independent confirmation of a pact. But he added: "What we do know is there was a group of students being tested for pregnancy on a regular basis, which would suggest they were not taking steps to avoid becoming pregnant, and that when some of them had their babies, they appeared to be very pleased."

None of the girls or their families have come forward to confirm any type of pact, and school and health officials have not identified any of the youngsters.

The girls are all 16 or under, nearly all of them sophomores. The superintendent said they have been reluctant to identify the fathers, many of whom are older. But one of them "is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal was quoted as telling Time.

City and school officials in this town of about 30,000 people 30 miles north of Boston have been struggling for months to explain and deal with the pregnancies, where on average only four girls a year at the 1,200-student high school become pregnant.

Just last month, two officials at the high school health center resigned to protest the local hospital's refusal to support a proposal to distribute contraceptives to youngsters at the school without parental consent. The hospital controls the clinic's funding.

Mayor Carolyn Kirk said Friday there are many contributing factors to what she called a "blip" in the pregnancy rate, from glamorization of teen pregnancy in pop culture to cuts in funding that have reduced teachers and health classes in Gloucester.

"We have fallen on hard times," Kirk said of her city, which has suffered in recent decades with the decline in the fishing industry that has defined Gloucester since the colonial era.

Gloucester is the town that lost six fishermen in the 1991 shipwreck that inspired the book and movie "The Perfect Storm." Its high school teams are known as the Fighting Fishermen.

Student Council member Emily Spreer said many of the girls came from difficult socioeconomic circumstances: "Their circle or clique, they're not the most fortunate family-wise."

"If you're a young person who really is struggling to find an identity for herself, absent the support and the guidance, it can become almost a default option for some to become a mom," said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy. "We need to do more for young people and show them more paths."

Gloucester — a heavily Roman Catholic town with a large Italian and Portuguese population — has long been supportive of teen mothers. The high school has a day care center for students and employees.

Christen Callahan, a former Gloucester High student who had a child when she was 15, said on NBC's "Today" show that some of the girls would ask her about her own pregnancy. "They would say stuff like, 'Oh, I think my parents would be fine with it and they would help me,' stuff like that," Callahan said.

Sarah Brown, chief executive of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, suggested some of the blame lies with the nation's Hollywood-obsessed culture, in which stories about pregnant celebrities abound.

Just this week, 17-year-old TV star Jamie Lynn Spears, the unmarried sister of Britney Spears, gave birth. "Juno," a wry comedy about a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant, was one of the most acclaimed movies of the year.

"Baby bumps get written about the same way designer handbags do. It's just one more lifestyle choice, just another personal expression: these shoes, this bump and that handbag," Brown said. "It's not surprising that teenage girls can get confused or even seduced by the allure of celebrity pregnancy."
=====

http://usatoday.com/news/nation/2008...ct_N.htm?imw=Y

*That Matt Guy* · 06-21-2008, 09:05 AM

damn yankees

*Raph's Girl* · 06-21-2008, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sewer Bull

The high school has a day care center for students and employees.

Well shoot...that's really nice... all high schools should have a day care center for the teen mothers so they can still attend school. It's sad that they need one in the first place tho

*Kunoichi_Haruko* · 06-21-2008, 11:38 AM

*shakes head* Just highlights yet another flaw in our society....

**Jester** · 06-21-2008, 01:40 PM

Darn Juno! I knew she was the pop culture spewing anti-Christ!

JetsAndHeels · 06-21-2008, 01:46 PM

Where were these girls when I was in high school?

*Hannah* · 06-21-2008, 02:05 PM

Some girl at my school was pregnant this year. It was really weird. I had never seen someone so... pregnant.

JetsAndHeels · 06-21-2008, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hannah

Some girl at my school was pregnant this year. It was really weird. I had never seen someone so... pregnant.

Did she go on the Maury show to find out who the father was?

*Hannah* · 06-21-2008, 02:21 PM

Nah, she knew who it was.

**Machias Banshee** · 06-21-2008, 03:48 PM

*shakes head* Sad thing is.... I won't be surprised if this happens to my nieces. What does That tell you about life these days..?

I remember hearing about the high schools that were providing day care for the students, but I ALSO heard about some students who said that due to being pregnant, they couldn't take time to do school - not even online courses or make-up work - so the school actually let them NOT do their work and STILL graduate with their class.

Seriously, when did our country go straight into the toilet?

*Hannah* · 06-21-2008, 04:00 PM

It was never good.

*Tinuvielsdreams* · 06-21-2008, 07:38 PM

That really is the silliest thing. First of all it shouldn't matter what Hollywood says or does but I guess it's easier to blame Hollywood then the parents or the schools.

So if this is becoming like a "trend", it just shows you how naive some of these girls must be, if they think having babies so young is glamorous let's see what they say in ten years when they look back and realize they tied themselves down during their teens and early twenties because their friends decided it would be fun.
I do find this funny especially the thing about these stars who have babies...they get to skip the steps where you work you butt off to get married, a place to live, and get financially secure before you start having kids.
Jamie Lynn Spears is financially secure at her age already so if she has a kid then so what, she has money and people all around her to help, she could hire a full time nanny and I doubt she has to work for awhile

I don't think Juno made pregnancy look very glamorous at all honestly. Sure didn't make me want to run out and have babies...lol

*Drtooth* · 06-21-2008, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Sarah Brown, chief executive of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, suggested some of the blame lies with the nation's Hollywood-obsessed culture, in which stories about pregnant celebrities abound.

Just this week, 17-year-old TV star Jamie Lynn Spears, the unmarried sister of Britney Spears, gave birth. "Juno," a wry comedy about a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant, was one of the most acclaimed movies of the year.

Bull. just a steaming pile of bull. when I was in High School, the only girls who were pregnant WERE hussies. but then again, I try to repress everything from my teen years, so I could be wrong.

I love how they'll always find a way to blame Hollywood, all the while writing a blank check for incompetent /negligent parents.

The only pregnancy trend is coming out of people wanting to have twins (fifth hand news, I don't buy it).

Ra · 06-22-2008, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetsAndHeels

Where were these girls when I was in high school?

You have no idea how you made me laugh.

And this news makes me sad. Probably because I fall into that age group, but it's still bloody depressing.

JetsAndHeels · 06-22-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ra

You have no idea how you made me laugh.

Glad I could brighten your day.

*odupianist* · 06-23-2008, 07:53 AM

So to have a better chance of boning some jailbait, I have to be homeless. Damn, I'm going about this all wrong...

*Spike Spiegel* · 06-23-2008, 12:39 PM

Those girls are stupid. They've impaired their futures and the quality of life for their unborn children. Seriously, how are they going to support themselves?

*Dr. Doom* · 06-23-2008, 02:55 PM

Hey, I'll be 24 in about 6 months. Maybe if I get kicked outta my house I can get lucky!

*Drtooth* · 06-24-2008, 05:26 PM

Uhhhh... funny thing about this....

Turns out it's actually all a sham, and overexaggerated by a reporter that wanted some goofy story like this. I heard that on the local news.

If anyone has a link to the report that says this is all a load of crap, please post it.

*Kunoichi_Haruko* · 06-24-2008, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drtooth

Uhhhh... funny thing about this....

Turns out it's actually all a sham, and overexaggerated by a reporter that wanted some goofy story like this. I heard that on the local news.

If anyone has a link to the report that says this is all a load of crap, please post it.

Yeah I found a couple links: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7470203.stm ; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080622/...pregnancy_pact

At any rate, those girls' futures are still screwed. I'm not saying they can't overcome being a young mother to achieve something in their life, but it's going to be damn hard.

06-21-2008, 02:02 AM	#1
Sewer Bull Devil's Advocate Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,768	Massachussets town alarmed by pregnancy pact reports This news made me chuckle. Now sue me. I also love how they blame Hollywood for that. ===== GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The girls showed up repeatedly at the high school health clinic, asking for pregnancy tests. But their reactions to the test results were puzzling: high-fives if they were expecting, long faces if they weren't. School officials in this hard-luck New England fishing town say an alarming 17 girls — four times the usual number — became pregnant this year. And even more disturbing: Some of the girls may have made a pact to have babies and raise them together. "A typical girl you would think would say, 'Oh my God! What am I going to do now? How am I going to support this baby? How am I going to finish school?"' Superintendent Christopher Farmer said. "These young women clearly have not seen that." The story exploded after Joseph Sullivan, the principal of Gloucester High School, was quoted by Time magazine this week as saying the girls confessed to making such a pact. Sullivan was on vacation Friday and did not return calls for comment. The superintendent said he had no independent confirmation of a pact. But he added: "What we do know is there was a group of students being tested for pregnancy on a regular basis, which would suggest they were not taking steps to avoid becoming pregnant, and that when some of them had their babies, they appeared to be very pleased." None of the girls or their families have come forward to confirm any type of pact, and school and health officials have not identified any of the youngsters. The girls are all 16 or under, nearly all of them sophomores. The superintendent said they have been reluctant to identify the fathers, many of whom are older. But one of them "is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal was quoted as telling Time. City and school officials in this town of about 30,000 people 30 miles north of Boston have been struggling for months to explain and deal with the pregnancies, where on average only four girls a year at the 1,200-student high school become pregnant. Just last month, two officials at the high school health center resigned to protest the local hospital's refusal to support a proposal to distribute contraceptives to youngsters at the school without parental consent. The hospital controls the clinic's funding. Mayor Carolyn Kirk said Friday there are many contributing factors to what she called a "blip" in the pregnancy rate, from glamorization of teen pregnancy in pop culture to cuts in funding that have reduced teachers and health classes in Gloucester. "We have fallen on hard times," Kirk said of her city, which has suffered in recent decades with the decline in the fishing industry that has defined Gloucester since the colonial era. Gloucester is the town that lost six fishermen in the 1991 shipwreck that inspired the book and movie "The Perfect Storm." Its high school teams are known as the Fighting Fishermen. Student Council member Emily Spreer said many of the girls came from difficult socioeconomic circumstances: "Their circle or clique, they're not the most fortunate family-wise." "If you're a young person who really is struggling to find an identity for herself, absent the support and the guidance, it can become almost a default option for some to become a mom," said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy. "We need to do more for young people and show them more paths." Gloucester — a heavily Roman Catholic town with a large Italian and Portuguese population — has long been supportive of teen mothers. The high school has a day care center for students and employees. Christen Callahan, a former Gloucester High student who had a child when she was 15, said on NBC's "Today" show that some of the girls would ask her about her own pregnancy. "They would say stuff like, 'Oh, I think my parents would be fine with it and they would help me,' stuff like that," Callahan said. Sarah Brown, chief executive of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, suggested some of the blame lies with the nation's Hollywood-obsessed culture, in which stories about pregnant celebrities abound. Just this week, 17-year-old TV star Jamie Lynn Spears, the unmarried sister of Britney Spears, gave birth. "Juno," a wry comedy about a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant, was one of the most acclaimed movies of the year. "Baby bumps get written about the same way designer handbags do. It's just one more lifestyle choice, just another personal expression: these shoes, this bump and that handbag," Brown said. "It's not surprising that teenage girls can get confused or even seduced by the allure of celebrity pregnancy." ===== http://usatoday.com/news/nation/2008...ct_N.htm?imw=Y __________________ Soooo... THIS* is how you spend your free time now?!*

06-21-2008, 11:38 AM	#4
Kunoichi_Haruko A shell of a good hit! Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Richmond, Va. Posts: 1,685	shakes head Just highlights yet another flaw in our society.... __________________

06-21-2008, 01:40 PM	#5
Jester Rat-faced Dude-guy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26,301	Darn Juno! I knew she was the pop culture spewing anti-Christ! __________________ "Clearly, you're Ninja Turtling incorrectly." - Leo656

06-21-2008, 01:46 PM	#6
JetsAndHeels Stone Warrior Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NC Posts: 596	Where were these girls when I was in high school? __________________

06-21-2008, 02:05 PM	#7
Hannah Once more, with feeling! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 4,111	Some girl at my school was pregnant this year. It was really weird. I had never seen someone so... pregnant. __________________

06-21-2008, 09:05 AM	#2
That Matt Guy Honey Bunches Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lone Star State Posts: 5,840	damn yankees

06-21-2008, 02:21 PM	#9
Hannah Once more, with feeling! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 4,111	Nah, she knew who it was. __________________

06-21-2008, 03:48 PM	#10
Machias Banshee Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 17,163	shakes head Sad thing is.... I won't be surprised if this happens to my nieces. What does That tell you about life these days..? I remember hearing about the high schools that were providing day care for the students, but I ALSO heard about some students who said that due to being pregnant, they couldn't take time to do school - not even online courses or make-up work - so the school actually let them NOT do their work and STILL graduate with their class. Seriously, when did our country go straight into the toilet?

06-21-2008, 04:00 PM	#11
Hannah Once more, with feeling! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 4,111	It was never good. __________________

06-21-2008, 07:38 PM	#12
Tinuvielsdreams Nothing without passion Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,722	That really is the silliest thing. First of all it shouldn't matter what Hollywood says or does but I guess it's easier to blame Hollywood then the parents or the schools. So if this is becoming like a "trend", it just shows you how naive some of these girls must be, if they think having babies so young is glamorous let's see what they say in ten years when they look back and realize they tied themselves down during their teens and early twenties because their friends decided it would be fun. I do find this funny especially the thing about these stars who have babies...they get to skip the steps where you work you butt off to get married, a place to live, and get financially secure before you start having kids. Jamie Lynn Spears is financially secure at her age already so if she has a kid then so what, she has money and people all around her to help, she could hire a full time nanny and I doubt she has to work for awhile I don't think Juno made pregnancy look very glamorous at all honestly. Sure didn't make me want to run out and have babies...lol

06-23-2008, 07:53 AM	#16
odupianist Mad Scientist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,744	So to have a better chance of boning some jailbait, I have to be homeless. Damn, I'm going about this all wrong...

06-23-2008, 02:55 PM	#18
Dr. Doom Allons-y! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Castle Doom Posts: 4,535	Hey, I'll be 24 in about 6 months. Maybe if I get kicked outta my house I can get lucky! __________________ I love you, Pickle.

06-24-2008, 05:26 PM	#19
Drtooth Foot Elite Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,439	Uhhhh... funny thing about this.... Turns out it's actually all a sham, and overexaggerated by a reporter that wanted some goofy story like this. I heard that on the local news. If anyone has a link to the report that says this is all a load of crap, please post it. __________________ [Insert mildly amusing banner here]