Like, Let's Totally All Get Preggers Together!

First things first, I just heard that the great George Carlin just died at 71 from heart failure yesterday. I think it would be interesting to find out his last words, though I doubt they were the terrible seven that you're not allowed to say n television. He was going to receive the Mark Twain award for American humor this November at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more on his life, click here.

So seventeen girls at a high school in Mass. have allegedly taken part in a pact to get pregnant together and help each other out all along the way. Sadly, had this been during later years in their lives, it might have been endearing, though obviously not on this large of a scale.

CNN has reported that the two main girls involved in the pact may have bullied others into joining. I'm sorry, but how can you be bullied into getting pregnant? "If you don't have sex without a condom and get pregnant by the end of the school year, we're kicking your ass?" If so, they severely underestimate the amount of time that it takes some women to get preggers. And really, what's worse - getting your ass kicked by your "friends" for not getting pregnant or getting kicked out of your house by your parents for the alternative?

Then there's another story that it happened after the fact, that only the two girls were involved, and maybe that it inspired others to get close like that with their bff. Awww, how sweet.

I went to a poor high school. There were plenty of girls who were pregnant during the four years I spent there. One girl was pregnant around eight or so times (the actual number is unknown really) since sixth grade. She decided to keep the one that she got pregnant with in our junior or senior year. Sure some of her friends got pregnant around the same time, but I'm sure that it was due to drugs, drinking, and not thinking as opposed to a pact.

Regardless of whether or not they're ready mentally for kids (which I highly doubt), they're not anywhere near ready physically for them. Your body isn't really done growing until you're around twenty-three, and therefore really isn't ready to support a fetus until that point. Look at how many teen births have been premature. And even more than that, I'm sure these kids also are into a party scene. Does anyone really think that they're not going to drink, smoke, do drugs? Do they care that those actions could do serious damage to their babies? Who knows, but somehow I doubt that they care about anything more than themselves, as is clearly shown by their actions.

And what about the kids? How are they gonna feel when they grow up and find out that they were the result of a pact between stupid teenage girls that don't even talk to each other anymore? I'm sure that they're not going to stick together forever like they claim. I don't even talk to my best friends from high school anymore. Sure, there's the occasional poke or wall post on facebook and, hell, maybe even a message or comment on myspace, but really we don't talk.

I don't support abortions in all cases. I do think that people need to understand the ramifications of their actions and deal with the consequences. However, I do believe that some people who are not ready for kids should have the right to not make those children suffer because of a stupid choice they made. There are other situations and circumstances where I also support abortions, but that's not relevant here.

Is this all a consequence of out abstinence-only education? If they really knew the consequences of getting pregnant so early, would that have stopped them? I volunteered for Planned Parenthood in high school and put in a lot of hours. While I did not work in the clinics, I did call people around our very liberal city of Eugene to get a feel for what people thought of the administration's stance on both sex ed and abortion. It was amazing to see how many people in the area were actually against the liberal views shared by most of the town. Yet, most of us had great talks about how many kids do not understand the ramifications of their actions and therefore get themselves into stupid situations.

Hopefully in the future, sex ed is better and more comprehensive. It won't protect against all teen pregnancies, but it will help lower them and give everyone concerned a chance at a better life.