Teen “Pregnancy Pact”: The Perfect Storm?
The shocking news from the small fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts spread across the country and around the world: 17 girls from one high school were pregnant, part of a supposed ‘pregnancy pact’ in which the students intentionally set out to become teen mothers, with a vow to raise their babies together.
It wasn’t the first time Gloucester made international headlines. The tragic 1991 loss at sea of a Gloucester fishing boat and its crew prompted the book and the movie “The Perfect Storm.”
Now a tidal wave of finger-pointing about who or what was responsible for so many pregnancies tipped toward a “perfect storm” of outside influences.
Some blamed Gloucester’s depressed local economy and the demise of its once-thriving fishing industry. Others indicted so-called broken families and directionless youth. Gloucester High, it was suggested, had brought the predicament on itself, by providing easily accessible on-campus day care for the babies of student mothers. And Hollywood shouldered its share of responsibility—the movie “Juno” was blamed for glamorizing unwed teen motherhood, and the media’s obsession with pregnant celebs having babies as “accessories” was called out as well.
But soon cracks began to appear in the cultural blame game. A reproductive specialist noted that the pregnancy trend at Gloucester High began before “Juno” hit the theaters. Gloucester’s mayor said the pregnancy rate was a statistical “blip” and rued the lack of health education funding. And the School Superintendent stated that he’d never heard the term “pact” used by the students, only by the media.
After days of silence, one of the girls finally appeared on national television. 17-year-old Lindsey Oliver denied the existence of a pact. “There was a group of girls already pregnant that decided they were going to help each other to finish school and raise their kids together,” she said. “I think it was just a coincidence.”
Tell us what you think: Are the Gloucester teen pregnancies the result of a “perfect storm” of outside influences, or does responsibility lie elsewhere?
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LOL!
I didn’t need to post a second comment!!
ElizD | 5 months ago
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NO! TEENS SOULDNT GET PREGNANT
I am a young teen pregnant….im 6 months….i am doing adoption and i will be very sad but i want my child to have whats best. :/
Kaylin Franks | 5 months ago
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WTF?? (again)
GUYS KEEP IN IN YOUR PANTS!! GIRLS DONT LET A GUY PRESSURE YOU INTO HAVING SEX BECAUSE IF YOU DO YOU WILL WIND UP GETTING PREGANT! dont let guys say “if you love me then you will do it.” thats wrong! if they love you then i think they could wait untill you guys are ready to have a baby! if you truly love them then go for it but get ready for what is comeing your way!
candice | 5 months ago
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it not about you it about the baby
i know because my baby dad will be thinking about himself and it not about us its about the beautiful thing inside that matter i love myself for talking to you guys and girls about it so yea remember think about them first
jerri r. swank | 5 months ago
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teens pact
I think that the reason for the whole pregancy pact was because some teenage girls don’t have good role models or not even that ,like there background history growing up in a bad home or area,like moms giving them up or them having to go to foster homes,jail and etc.
Another reason i think is for the pact is because most teens just want to be loved or cared for.
Well im a teenage mom too And i didnt just do it for attention or growing up in a bad home it just happend. but i have 5 sisters and 1 brother and we all have kids and my mom had her first child which was my brother when she was 14 years old.And my dad was never there for me or my sisters so my mom basically was 14 years old and by the age of 25 she had 6 kids doing it on her own and kicked out when she got pregnant with my brother i think that some men are just pitaful like if your willing to lay down and have babies then you need to deal with the consequences and be a good role model for your child.
high school student | 4 months, 4 weeks ago
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Teen “Pregnancy Pact”: The Perfect Storm?
I think many teen get pregnant in early age.it is very hard to rise the kids they don’t anythink. so, getting pregnant in early age is not good fo teens.
Jifaru | 4 months, 4 weeks ago
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sexxxxxxxx
wellreally you cant stop anyone from having sex if they choose to have sex then its on them cant nobody control their body and if the teenagers wind up pregnant then its their responsibility for them tho take care of that child they are now bringing into this world…
bduhsdla | 4 months, 4 weeks ago
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my son is three years old
i was 14 and pergnant and by the time i was 15 i had a baby. it was hard but i manged to still be a grad form high school and now i am a colllege student.
lacey aragon | 4 months, 3 weeks ago
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UM NO!
Okayy so i’m 15 years old.. I don’t think teens should be having sex. We are not mature.
At all.
Something has to gieve.
Kids are becoming whores.
Very much so.
So if any of you wanna talk to me about this, my myspace url is myspace.com/mrsflowers101 :) thankyouu!!!
:]]]] yay! so yeahh i don’t get on my email much.
But i’m always on myspace..
So yeahhh add me.
I’m a very nice person.
I have different views of things.
And i’m willing to talk about them :]]]]] thanks;;
Brooke Richards | 4 months, 3 weeks ago
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life of a teen
an thats right i feel that because as a teen
u would want to have fun go out with ur friend an,
drink an smoke but thats not good an anyways u would
meet people an they will temp u an thats just how it start
then a nother thing is school when u meet this fine boy at
school an you all hook up an be on the phone an
he want to come over an this leads to one thing an this
leads to another ,an one more thing finally the most thing thats happen
when your parents leave the house an u sneak the boys in or sneak off
with them an that whats happening in the teeenages invorment….
brianna marie carpenter | 4 months, 3 weeks ago
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