Is Sarah Palin a Hypocrite on Teen Pregnancy Support?

[TheStatutoryApe]

Can this election year become any more of a surreal tabloid story?

Oh Baby! The Spears-Palin Connection
By Roxanne Roberts
We're now skating the fine line between fact and satire: Jamie Lynn Spears -- the 17-year-old lil' sis of Britney who had a daughter in June -- has sent a baby gift to 17-year-old Bristol Palin because she, like, totally KNOWS what's it's like to be a celebrity unwed mother.

Spears (actually her mother Lynne) called Beverly Hills baby boutique Petit Tresor looking for something nice (but not THAT nice; $100 or less) and settled on white burp cloths with pink writing, a spokesman for the store confirmed today. The package, with a note reading, "Dear Bristol: Hang in there...xoxo, Jamie Lynn" was shipped off to the Alaska Capitol building.

The McCain campaign put Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in the infamous "Celebrity" ad, now the Spears family has interjected itself into the mix. What's next? A double wedding? Off-white for the brides?

The best news: Saturday Night Live writers already have enough material for the entire season.
Washington Post

Alot of people have been pointing out that when Jamie Lynn was found out to be pregnant the conservatives accused her mother of being a terrible parent.
I suppose if she had pulled out the matrimonial shotgun then she would have been considered a wonderful mother.


Another fun one to share...
Is McCain a Cylon?

 

[Leah]

I'm sure the mothers of Spears and Palin talked with there daughters about sex and what can happen if you don't use protection. I don't think it is the mothers' fault that their daughters got pregnant.

 

[edward]

Palin's religion only allows abstinence for birth control.

 

[Evo]

I'm sure the mothers of Spears and Palin talked with there daughters about sex and what can happen if you don't use protection. I don't think it is the mothers' fault that their daughters got pregnant.

Palin is against teaching sex education, her religious views only allow abstinence.

Except Sarah Palin opposes programs that teach teenagers anything about contraception. "The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she said in answering a questionnaire from the conservative Eagle Forum during her 2006 gubernatorial race.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090102305.html

 

[Kurdt]

Palin is against teaching sex education, her religious views only allow abstinence.

Then surely she is an excellent advert for sex education. And they still thought she'd be an excellent running mate?

 

[Leah]

Abstinence is like telling your child not to do drugs. They're going to do what their peers are doing. How can anyone not figure this out? It's best to reiterate that pregnancy may happen with sex. And of course, if you do drugs you can die, but not informing children of life altering decisions is wrong. What in the heck is Palin thinking?

 

[Math Is Hard]

I'm confused about Sarah Palin's stance on contraception. Especially since reading this:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1837523_1837531_1837538,00.html

She is Christian and pro-life, but also a supporter of birth control: she's a member of Feminists For Life (FFL), an anti-abortion, pro-contraception organization.

Does that mean she thinks contraception is OK for married people?

 

[Evo]

The FFL may support contraception, but personally Palin seems to be against it. I can't find anywhere that she has been quoted as advocating teaching contraception.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/01/1320417.aspx

 

[Moonbear]

I'm confused about Sarah Palin's stance on contraception. Especially since reading this:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1837523_1837531_1837538,00.html


Does that mean she thinks contraception is OK for married people?

I don't think there's any reason to believe she's against using contraception. She just seems to share the bizarre notion with many others that teens shouldn't be told how to use it and thinks that those who engage in intercourse will magically figure it out in time to prevent having to consider an abortion.

I have to admit there are days when I think about how many people have misconceptions about birth control and how badly so many understand reproductive biology that I have my own doubts if I'd want my own kids to learn about it in school (if I had kids that is). I darn well would make sure they learned about it, and would be glad to teach anyone else's kids if they asked me to teach them, but I'd worry that some teachers are not any better informed than the rest of the general public. I might have been lucky in school that we had a health teacher who was a former obstetrical nurse, so she was VERY informed about a lot of reproductive issues, but sometimes it's just the gym teacher giving a "birds and the bees" lecture that I worry about.

I'm pretty sure her reasons are quite different from mine. Though, I wonder if having a now pregnant teenage daughter might change her position a bit on the education issue. Maybe facing the reality of the failure of abstinence-only education, she'll come around on this.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I have to admit there are days when I think about how many people have misconceptions about birth control ...

Isn't that the idea?

I'm just joking.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Abstinence is like telling your child not to do drugs. They're going to do what their peers are doing.

Keep in mind that most kids 17 and younger are NOT engaging in sexual intercourse. In my opinion, the 'peer pressure' argument is blunted by the following facts.

I have emphasized some of the text below.

There's clearly a significant level of sexual activity among teens. Seventy percent say "most" or "a lot" of the teenagers they know engage in romantic kissing; 46 percent in intimate touching; 24 percent in oral sex; and 27 percent in sexual intercourse. And these numbers are higher among older teens, age 15 to 17.
...

The biggest jumps in oral sex and intercourse occur later, from ages 16 to 17. About a quarter of 16-year-olds say they've had oral sex, and 21 percent say they've had sexual intercourse -- sizable numbers in themselves but ones that spike to 42 and 43 percent among 17-year-olds.

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/PollVault/Story?id=1981945&page=1"

The same goes for drug use (other than alcohol). Most teens do not take drugs.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/dcf/du.htm"

My kids are aware of this. When their peers say "Hey, everyone's doing it", my kids know it's a lie.

 

[tribdog]

Isn't that the idea?

I'm just joking.

I'm taking your keyboard away for 10 minutes for that one.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Very scary...

BOSTON - An investigation has been launched into an apparent teenage "pregnancy pact" that has at least 17 high-school girls expecting babies, four times more than last year, including many aged 16 or younger.

A high school health clinic in the city of Gloucester, Mass., became suspicious after seeing a surge in girls seeking pregnancy tests. Local officials said Thursday nearly half of those who became pregnant appear to have entered into a pact to have their babies together over the year.

"Some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Gloucester High School principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine, which broke news of the pact on its Web site.

Some of the girls reacted to the news they were pregnant with high fives and plans for baby showers, Sullivan said. One of the fathers "is a 24-year-old homeless guy," Sullivan told the magazine. Others were boys in the school.
continued...

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Very scary...

The story may not be true.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_06_25_Preg_pact_story_unravels/srvc=home&position=0"

 

[Chi Meson]

I'm sure the mothers of Spears and Palin talked with there daughters about sex and what can happen if you don't use protection. I don't think it is the mothers' fault that their daughters got pregnant.

Bill O' Reilly disagrees. With himself.

He expressly said that it is the fault of the parents for no being able to control or influence the actions of their underage daughters. That was for Spears.

He then said that it was nobody's business as to what goes on inside a family's internal affairs, as long as the situation did not involve dependence on taxpayers. That was for the Palins.

 

[Borek]

it was nobody's business as to what goes on inside a family's internal affairs, as long as the situation did not involve dependence on taxpayers

Now we know why do you safely abuse your kids to get better pictures for PF contests

 

[Chi Meson]

Now we know why do you safely abuse your kids to get better pictures for PF contests

Just wait till you see my entry for the "Fun With Knives" contest! (No child was harmed!)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Palin is against teaching sex education

Yet

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.[continued]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/02/palin_slashed_funding_to_help.html

I'm sorry, but a politician who opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest and who opposes comprehensive sex education should be at the forefront of championing support systems that make it easier for young mothers to keep their babies.

I would have assumed Palin herself felt this way. After all, she is a proud member of Feminists for Life, an anti-abortion nonprofit whose stated aim is to give women a real choice--that is, to make certain that women faced with unplanned pregnancies have access to the information and support systems that will enable/encourage them not to have an abortion. Surely a program aimed at assisting the most desperate of young mothers--those whose boyfriends aren't amenable to a shotgun wedding or who don't have a strong family support system--would be something a pro-life feminist such as Palin would work to expand not destroy.[continued]

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_...andling-of-other-people-s-pregnant-teens.aspx