Saturday, July 12, 2008

Hope...Joy (and a few Thoughts) for Pregnant Teens

The news of the so-called Gloucester pregnancy pact swept the nation two weeks ago. 17 girls in this high school with a population of 1200 have become pregnant in the last year. The principal opined that the girls had made a pact with each other to become pregnant and raise the children together. Since TIME Magazine broke the original story, several of the girls have spoken out denying the claim. Last week, TIME columnist, Nancy Gibbs, write an editorial about the girls again, this form a different point of view. While we can't applaud these girls' actions in getting pregnant, we can be pleased with their decision to carry through with the pregnancies. Their generation has grown up with abortion always being an option, and yet they have opted not to. In this week's issue of TIME, two women, both who work for Pro-Choice organizations, wrote letters lambasting Gibbs for her happiness at the girls' decision to choose life.


In their literature and on their websites, Planned Parenthood and other Pro-Choice organizations all lament the amount of abortions and say that their intent is to educate girls so that the abortion rate can drop. Never has a generation been so educated about safe sex and about all of the options: abortion, adoption, and parenthood. So isn't it a bit hypocritical to attack a journalist for being glad that some girls have chosen life when you are supposed to want less abortions yourself? It's times like this that the abortion lobby's true colors show.

Hope...Joy (and a Few Thoughts) for Pregnant Teens by Rachel Brignoni: I've made no secret of the fact that I was a teenage mom, and having a son when I was 17 has colored every aspect of my life. I wish that I had had this book to read 17 years ago. Discovering you are pregnant as a teenager brings feelings of guilt, shame, and like your life is over. But Brignoni, herself a former pregnant teen, brings home to girls everywhere by reminding them that while being pregnant changes things, it isn't the end of their life. She encourages them to change their attitude and look at life with hope for the future, because if they don't have help for themselves, no one else will. She has several different exercises to invite pregnant teens to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and plans for the future, as well as make a map on how to bring those plans to fruition. My only concern about the book is that it has a little bit of The Secret type theology to it: send good thoughts out into the universe so they can return to you. Other than that, I really enjoyed reading this book. It's a quick read, but filled with a great deal of hard earned wisdom about not giving up and creating a good life for you and your child. I give the book 4-1/2 stars.

I'm starting a book contest on Monday that you won't want to miss! Come back then!

0 comments: